Observing Skeletal composition.

Obtain three (3) chicken leg and thigh bones.
Using gloves, observe the muscle tendons and bone ligaments before removing them.

• What is the purpose of tendons?
• What is the purpose of ligaments?
• What is the purpose of cartilage?

Soak one of the chicken leg and thigh bones in vinegar for 3 days
Bake one of the chicken leg and thigh bones in the oven at 350 degrees for 3 hours
Keep the third chicken leg and thigh bone in the refrigerator.

When ready to observe, place all three chicken leg and thigh bones on a 13 x 9 cookie sheet (be sure to wear gloves).

• What is the shape of the three chicken bones?

Now attempt to bend each of the bones and describe what happens

• Fresh chcik bones ______________________________
• Vinegar soaked bones ___________________________
• Baked bones __________________________________

Explain your results based on bone composition of inorganic mineral salts and organic collagen fibers and the reaction to the vinegar (acetic acid) and baking.

• Loss of minerals causes bone to _________________________
• Loss of collagen causes bone to _________________________