Adult males and females have slightly different skeletons.

Male skeletons have slightly thicker and longer leg and arm bones while female skeletons have a wider pelvis and a larger space within the pelvis to allow a baby to travel through more easily at birth.

Bone is a living material and can repair itself when it is broken or fractured. Small bones such as the ribs can repair themselves Quickly but a large bone such as a femur can take a long time.

If a child's diet is low in calcium or vitamin D then the bones will grow but ossification is not completed. The adult bones are deformed and weak so they fracture easily. This deficiency disease is called rickets. Many women suffer from osteoporosis after the menopause. This is where the amount of mineral in the bone decreases so the bones are weakened.

The adult human skeleton is made up of 206 bones. A baby is actually born with about 300 bones but many fuse together as it grows up.

In the human embryo the entire skeleton is made of cartilage, a firm but elastic material (in an adult, cartilage supports the ear).

Cartilage is made up of tough nonelastic fibres called collagen, mixed with stretchy elastic fibres.

Gradually the bones develop by depositing a hard mineral called calcium phosphate. This is called ossification. The final bone is made up of this mineral and the tough collagen fibres.
Why is bone made up of two completely different materials? If bone did not have the collagen fibres in it then it would be too rigid and would shatter very easily. If bone did not have the minerals in it then it would be too flexible and could not support and protect other parts of the body.

If bone did not have the collagen fibres in it then it would be too rigid and would shatter very easily. If bone did not have the minerals in it then it would be too flexible and could not support and protect other parts of the body.

In your book label each of these 19 bones

1.Skull 2.Neck vertebra 3.Clavicle (collar bone) 4.Humerus 5.Scapula (shoulder blade) 6.Sternum 7.Rib 8.Lumber vertebra 9.Radius 10.Ulna

11.Carpals (wrist bones) 12.Metacarpals 13.Femur 14.Patella (knee cap) 15.Tibia (shin bone) 16.Fibula 17.Tarsals 18.Metatarsals 19.Pelvis

1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

7.

What are the two types of bone? What is the vertebral column made up of? Label the synovial joint on your sheet What is the role of the synovial fluid? Apart from the elbow and the knee, what other joints in the body are like hinge joints? Apart from its structural and mechanical functions, what other important function does the skeleton have? Which parts of the skeleton are concerned with both protection and movement?

Where two bones meet they form a joint. It may be a fixed joint - hip girdle and the vertebral column or a movable joint as in the knee. Two important types of movable joints are ball and socket joints and the hinge joints of the elbow and knee. The ball and socket joint allows movement forwards, backwards and sideways, whereas the hinge joint allows movement in only one direction.

Where the surfaces of the bones in a joint rub over each other, they are covered with smooth cartilage which reduces the friction between them. Friction is also reduced by a thin layer of lubricating fluid called synovial fluid. (Movable joints are sometimes called synovial joints). The bones forming the joint are held in place by tough bands of fibrous tissues called ligaments. Ligaments keep the bones together but do not stop their various movements.

The bones forming the joint are held in place by tough bands of fibrous tissues called ligaments. Ligaments keep the bones together but do not stop their various movements. The type of cartilage covering the surfaces of bones in a joint is firm but softer than bone. It contains fibres but no mineral salts. It forms a smooth, slippery surface. Tendons and ligaments consist of tough collagen fibres, which makes them flexible but very strong and resistant to stretching.
http://www.purchon.com/biology/flash/elbow.swf

Lignin or lignen is a complex chemical compound most commonly derived from wood, and an integral part of the cell walls of plants and some algae. (Please note that cellulose is also an important part of the cell wall in plants). The term was introduced in 1819 by de Candolle and is derived from the Latin word lignum, meaning wood. It is one of the most abundant organic polymers on Earth, exceeded only by cellulose, employing 30% of non-fossil organic carbon and constituting from a quarter to a third of the dry mass of wood. See below to see what the a molecule of lignin looks like.

The cytoplasm of a plant cell and the cell sap in its vacuole contain salts, sugars and proteins which effectively reduce the concentration of free water molecules inside the cell. The cell wall is freely permeable to water and dissolved substances but the cell membrane of the cytoplasm is partially permeable. If a plant cell is surrounded by water or a solution more dilute than its contents, water will pass into the vacuole by osmosis. The vacuole will expand and press outwards on the cytoplasm and cell wall. The cell wall of a mature plant cell cannot be stretched, so there comes a time when the inflow of water is resisted by the unstretchable cell wall.

This has a similar effect to inflating a soft bicycle tyre. The tyre represents the firm cell wall, the floppy inner tube is like the cytoplasm and the air inside corresponds to the vacuole. If enough air is pumped in, it pushes the inner tube against the tyre and makes the tyre hard. A plant cell with the vacuole pushing out on the cell wall is said to be turgid and the vacuole is exerting turgor pressure on the cell wall. If all the cells in a leaf and stem are turgid, the stem will be firm and upright and the leaves held out straight. If the vacuoles lose water for any reason, the cells will lose their turgor and become flaccid. A leaf with flaccid cells will be limp and the stem will droop. A plant which loses water to this extent is said to be wilting.