Final answer:
The cochlea is the part of the ear that contains the hair-like sensory cells which detect sounds. It is a fluid-filled structure within the inner ear that transduces mechanical sound vibrations into electrical signals for the brain to interpret.
Step-by-step explanation:
The part of the ear which contains the hair-like cells that detect sounds is B) Cochlea. To understand how we hear sounds, it is important to know that the ear is divided into three parts: the outer, middle, and inner ear. The outer ear consists of the pinna (or auricle) and auditory canal, leading to the eardrum. The middle ear is where the ossicles - the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup) - are located.
These tiny bones amplify the sound vibrations received from the eardrum. From the middle ear, vibrations move to the inner ear, particularly to the cochlea. The cochlea is a fluid-filled, snail-shaped structure that contains the sensory receptor cells or hair cells. These cells convert the mechanical waves of sound vibrations into electrical signals that can be transmitted along the auditory nerve to the brain for sound perception.