Final answer:
The tympanic membrane is part of the middle ear, not the inner ear. The inner ear contains the labyrinth, vestibule, and cochlea, whereas the tympanic membrane transmits sound waves to the ossicles in the middle ear. Therefore, option 'c' tympanic membrane is the correct answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
The components of the inner ear include structures such as the labyrinth, which is a bony, hollow structure containing the sites of transduction for auditory and vestibular information. Other components are the vestibule and the cochlea. The cochlea is responsible for transducing sound into neural signals, and it works with the vestibule to facilitate hearing and balance. However, the tympanic membrane, also known as the eardrum, is not part of the inner ear; it is rather found in the middle ear where it functions to transmit sound from the outer ear to the ossicles inside the middle ear. Consequently, the correct answer to the student's question is option 'c', the tympanic membrane.
When discussing the auditory and vestibular system, the cochlea contains the sensory neurons of the spiral ganglia which send signals to the brain stem via the vestibulocochlear nerve. The hair cells are also a component found in both the auditory and vestibular systems. In a scenario such as a car decelerating, fluid in the semicircular canals of the inner ear moves, which can result in the bending of stereocilia on the hair cells and the generation of signals sent to the brain to interpret the deceleration.