Final answer:
A wave from a rock entering the air will be audible if its frequency falls within the audible range for humans (20 Hz - 20 kHz). The ear captures sound waves and processes them through various components to enable hearing.
Step-by-step explanation:
Whether a wave that travels from a rock into the air will be audible to a healthy human ear depends on the frequency of the sound wave produced.
The human ear is sensitive to frequencies between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. If the wave produced by the rock has a frequency within this range, it will be audible. We can follow the path of such a sound wave through the human ear: first, sound waves are collected by the outer ear, then they travel through the ear canal to the eardrum. Vibrations from the eardrum are transmitted to the three small bones of the middle ear, which in turn stimulate the cochlea in the inner ear. The cochlea converts these vibrations into electrical signals which are sent to the brain, and the brain interprets these signals as sound.