The Effect of Vinegar on a Bone Matrix

Introduction:

Bones are strong and light. They are also somewhat flexible. This experiment helps illustrate what makes a bone strong and how flexible it would be without the strengthening substance.

Hypothesis:

I believe the strength in a bone comes from the minerals. The vinegar will dissolve the minerals, so that the bone will be rubbery and flexible.

Supplies:

An uncooked chicken bone (preferably a wishbone or wing) I used a leg bone

A jar with a lid

Vinegar (preferably white)

Procedure: (from science book module 11.1)

1. Clean the bone of all the 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 you break it! Notice the bone bends, a bit but 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 vinegar and test it as you did in step 3.

7. Note the difference you observed.

8. Put the bone back into the vinegar and close the jar again.

9. Continue this process for 7 days or more.

10. Once the 7 days are over, pour the vinegar mixture down the drain, throw the bone       away, and clean up the mess.

Observations:

Day 1: it only bent on one side

Day 2: the solution had changed colors

Day 3: the bone bent on both sides

Day 4: the bone was leaving chunks in the solution

Day 5: I dumped the solution and replaced it with new vinegar

Day 6: the bone was flexible except for the middle

Day 7: the bone was all the way flexible

Results:

The chicken bone was very flexible and rubbery. When I tried to pinch it between my fingers it slipped out from between them. The bone also was very flimsy and couldn't stay up very well. 

Conclusion:  

The results from the experiment confirm my hypothesis; the vinegar ate away the minerals from the bone leaving a flexible core.

Bones consist of cells surrounded by a substance called the bone matrix. The bone matrix is composed of collagen and minerals. The vinegar eats away at the minerals (like calcium) but not the collagen. This process makes the bone rubbery and flexible but, not rigid.

During the experiment the vinegar solution began to look gross so it was replaced with new vinegar in the jar.

Sheep pictures

Blackie has the black face and Lamb-chop is the white one.

Catching Sheep

This morning we got to take 2 of our sheep to the processor in Wellington. Taking them was the easy part, but catching them that is a completely different story. We decided to use the corral. We also, used a piece of gate to help us make our little corral smaller. The two sheep we wanted in the fenced in area. The first sheep we caught ,Lamb-chop, was used to being picked up so it was fairly easy to put him into the cage, even though he was really fat and heavy. Blackie on the other hand was scared out of her mind and tried jumping over our water bucket which made her soaking wet. Then she tried bucking her way out of the fence while Lamb-chop was staying still, going baa quietly.



Please share this blog with your friends and please give me feedback on whether you liked this post or not. The after pictures of lamb-chop mmm.

Visit at the library

This afternoon I was riding my bike to the library and at the library the librarian asked did school get out early because it was only 2:00 but I told her I am getting home schooled. She laughed because she thought that she had accidentally left her kids at school. Even if she had I am sure they would be fine; because, people in Childress are so nice and helpful.

Answers

1.  Each hen requires approximately 1 cubic foot of space.
2. 70" wide and 4'tall and 48"
3.Each side is 24"
4.69 and 2 eighths in inches
5.Yes 0.38535984 1.5" screw
6.9.640877319836105^inches
7.If you live in Childress 430.55 gallons and if you have a flying car.
8.So you know what you are doing
9. I would have planned much more than my dad and I did. Second I would have added an extra window we only had one which was 8" inches on each side. Third I would have put nests on each side and added a 3rd floor, for roosts. Next I would put it outside of the llama pen next to the barn. I also would have given it a paint job with chickens on the side and put a hot wire around it.
Sources: Ask.com and Google

We decided to make an actual omellete to see if answer 6 is actually right using a 6" pan but, it was about 3.6" off so my math was actually wrong.

My Dad the Preacher

Being a preachers son is not as bad you might think in fact to me it is wonderful because I get to go to work with my dad twice a week unlike most kids. My dad lets me go to conventions with him which is really fun. 

Building a Chicken coop

 Chicken Coop Project

Last week my parents, +Aghavni Ball and +Steven Ball, decided that we needed chickens. The problem is that we didn't have a coop. So my dad, +Steven Ball, and I got to build one.

Instructions and Questions on Building a Chicken coop

Problem: building a coop capable of holding at least 10 chickens with available materials.

Available materials:

 10 -2"x4"8'

 2- 4"x4"x8'

1- 3/8"x4'x'8 plywood

2- 3/4" plywood right-triangles, 48"hypotenuse

various 3" thick insulated  panels

70" metal roof ridge

various nails and screws

Additional Information:

20 gauge steal roofing is approximately 0.0359"

A 2x4 is actually 1.5" by 3.5"

Sheet metal screws come in .25" increments

Questions to Answer:

1. How much space does a laying hen require?

2. How much space should the coop be?

3. If the hypotenuse of the right-triangle is 48"then what is the length of the other two sides?

4.If the triangles are used for the gable ends of the roof and the maximum roof width is70" then how long should the 2x4s be cut to make a roof length of 70"?

5.If the metal roofing screws are 2" long and the metal roofing is 20 gauge steel and the rubber washer on the screw is 2mm will any of the screw pass through the 2x4? If so, how much? What size screw would be required to make sure none passed through?

6.On March 19, 1994, the largest omelette (128.5m^2;1,383ft^2) in the world at the time was made with 160,000 eggs in Yokohama, Japan. How much area of omelette does one egg make, in square inches?

7. If you drive a car that gets 20 miles per a gallon and you drove to Yokohama, Japan (from where you live) how many gallons of gas would it take? Would it be possible to drive a car to Yokohama? Use Google maps to find the distance.

8.Why is it important to plan before you build?

9. What would you do differently if you built a second coop?

FYI

We built the coop in two days then got chicks.

Along with the 8 chicks we got 2 ducks to accompany them.

Our sheep and llamas both like watching the new animals.

Yesterday our buck/ram jumped into the coop and was stealing chick food.

The llamas and sheep like stealing food from the chicks.

I will post pictures soon.