Mr. CH 03/10/09
Minerals in Bone
A. Purpose:
The objective of the Minerals in
Bone experiment is to show that bones are made up of two main substances,
minerals and collagen. The experiment will demonstrate that collagen is a
soft, flexible material, and that minerals are what give the bone its
strength. It will give a keener understanding as to the way that bones
function, and that without minerals and collagen, mixed together with God's
perfect design; bones would not be able to do anything they are regularly
capable of. In short, the experiment will demonstrate that minerals and
collagen work together to form the perfect bone, and that they would not work,
as the experiment will demonstrate, if they were not created as intended.
This is the objective of the experiment.
Much background information can be given on the subject of bones. Bones
provide us the support that keeps humans and other organisms from being balls
of skin containing organs. The study of bones is rather a mystery;
scientists have tried and failed to synthetically recreate God's design.
The skeleton does things which many take for granted. First and foremost,
holding us up, and being able to move smoothly. Also, without certain
bones, the majority of internal organs would be incredibly exposed.
Another thing which bones have provided is a gateway to the past, which would
be unimaginable without fossils. All in all, bones deserve many thanks
for what they do for all Vertebrates in the world. This is some
information on bones.
The Minerals in Bone experiment hopes to demonstrate that, as previously
mentioned, bones are made mostly of minerals and collagen. It hopes to
further show that if a bone is placed in vinegar, the vinegar will deteriorate
the minerals in the bone leaving only the collagen. Collagen gives the
bone its flexibility and the minerals balance it out, but if the minerals are
taken from the bone, only collagen will be left. If all goes according to
plan, the minerals will be taken from the bone and the collagen left will
become extremely bendable. The bone should be flexible enough to almost tie
into a knot. This is what the experiment hopes to show.
As imaginable, bones are of enormous interest to science. Bones are
fascinating structures, boggling the mind of even the most genius people.
As previously mentioned, science has yet to artificially reproduce a bone-like
substance. If such a feat could be accomplished, incredibly strong yet
light structures could be created which would be enormously valuable to science
and the world alike. Most scientists of any type are able to appreciate
the complexity, and wonder which goes into the seemingly simple structure of
the bone. Due to these reasons, it should be obvious why bones are of
interest to science.
B. Equipment:
1. An uncooked chicken bone (preferably
a smaller one like a wishbone or a wing)
2. A jar with a lid
3. Vinegar
(preferably white)
C. Procedures:
1. Clean the bone of all meat and tendons. Make it as bare as
possible.
2. Allow the bone to dry overnight.
3. The next day, test the bone by trying to gently bend it. Do not
use so much force that it breaks! Notice that the bone bends a bit but it
is still mostly rigid.
4. Fill the jar with enough vinegar so that the bone will be fully
immersed.
5. Drop the bone in the jar and close the lid.
6. Every day, pull the bone out of the jar and test it like in step 3.
7. Note the difference you observe.
8. Put the bone back in the vinegar and close the jar again.
9. Continue this process for seven days or more.
10. Once the seven days are over, pour the vinegar mixture down the
drain, throw the bone away, and clean up your mess.
D. Observations:
1. The chicken bone being used had been scraped clean the night before
and left out to dry.
2. In the morning, it was tested and found to be rigid and brittle.
It was placed in a jar and the top needed to be cut off because it was too big
for the jar. The jar being used was only about four inches high.
3. After the bone had been cut, with a good deal of difficulty, it was
placed into the jar and the vinegar was poured in, almost overflowing the jar
in order to cover up the 3 ½ inch by one centimeter bone. The inside of
the bone was bright red.
4. The bone floated about half of a centimeter off the bottom of the jar
for a good while, and then settled down to rest on the bottom of the container.
5. The first day came and it was noticed that the inside of the bone had
lost its red color and turned a dull grey-brown. While the bone was still
fairly sturdy, it had a bit more give than the day before.
6. The next day the bone was more flexible than the last, though still
fairly stiff. It was becoming rather slimy.
7. After that, the bone had become almost difficult to hold it was so
slimy, it was still gaining in flexibility and this time it was possible to
bend it into a shallow dip.
8. The bone's jar was disgusting to look at, it was incredibly dirty and
it was becoming hard to see the bone when it all got stirred up. The bone
was becoming much more flexible.
9. On the fifth day, the bone could be bent into a curve. It had
gained a large amount of flexibility from the day before.
10. The second to last day showed that the bone was becoming very
flexible; parts of it could be bent into a v-like shape.
11. On the last day, the bone had reached a maximum point of flexibility.
It was could be bent to almost more than doubled on itself.
12. The vinegar was poured down the drain and the bone was thrown away,
bending a little as it was thrown into the trash. The experiment had been
a success.
E. Conclusions:
The Minerals in Bone experiment was a success in demonstrating that if minerals
are taken from a bone, the bone will always grow substantially weaker. It
also did a fantastic job explaining the fact that bones are chiefly made up of
the two substances of minerals and collagen. Not just that however, it
proved that, like many other things in God's creation, the bone can not be fully developed and function correctly if it is
not put together in the exact recipe fashioned by the creator. Basically,
the collagen needs to be mixed together with minerals in the perfect way, with
the perfect proportions, to form parts of the structure which hold up our
body. The vinegar goes in, destroys bonds, and does away with most of the
minerals which are vital in order for the bone to function correctly. The
experiment also gives appreciation for the incredibly hard process of
fossilization, in which some whole bones are preserved. All that is
needed is a touch of a substance with similar properties as vinegar, and there
is no way that that particular bone will remain untouched for the centuries and
be found by archeologists in perfect condition. However, some bones have
made it for a very long period, completely untouched by the hands of
time. This is another incredible process which God has provided for
us. All in all, the experiment was conducted in a very realistic way,
with as little lab interference as possible. In the end, the expected
result shone bright and clear. It was an exceptionally high-quality
experiment.
Thought the Mineral in Bone experiment was a great experiment on its own, there
is room for improvement in any circumstance. To make sure that there were
no unwanted experiment variables, it might be a good idea to measure out the
jar size and bone size beforehand. This would make sure that there would
be no need of cutting the bone in half, as that might slightly affect the end
result of the experiment. Another unwanted side affect is the filthy
state of the vinegar toward the end days. It might be a good idea to have
a sort of self sustained filter that just keeps pumping fresh liquid in, or at
least drains out the unwanted bone remains. Obviously, an even more
realistic scenario could be created in a lab with the proper tools. You
could, for instance, use a more appropriate jar and perhaps use a certain type
of tool to make sure that the bone was scraped absolutely clean. These
are some ways to improve the experiment.
There is much further research which one could do on the Minerals in Bone
experiment. For instance, one could try the experiment with many
different liquids and see if any had an affect similar to vinegar. It
would be another improvement if the experiment was done with different types of
bones, as some might react differently than others. Much information can
be found on the subject of bones through the computer, books, and learned,
knowledgeable people. As previously mentioned, much more effective and
realistic experiments could be done in a lab with the proper tools. Other
experiment might include a test to try to extract the collagen from a bone and
see how rigid and brittle it becomes. All and all however, the experiment
was incredibly successful. People should be astonished, and incredibly
thankful, for the unbelievable support mechanisms the God of the universe has
provided for these earthly bodies. What will he have for the heavenly
ones?
F. Bibliography:
Domain: http://en.wikipedia.org
Document: /wiki/Bone
D. Adelseck. Lab help.
February 25, 2009
Rosenoff. Steve. Class Lecture.
February 2, 2009
Wile. Dr. Jay. Exploring Creation with General Science,
2nd Edition. Apologia Educational Ministries.
2009.