Bone minerals
In this activity, students investigate how bone strength varies with its mineral content and the solubility of bone minerals in neutral and acidic solutions.
What are hydroxyapatites?
Dr Michael Mucalo is a senior lecturer in chemistry at the University of Waikato. Over recent times, Michael has been conducting bioceramic research into bone substitute materials. One of the options looked at was a material known as hydroxyapatite, and in this video, Michael explains what hydroxyapatite is and how certain forms of it can be used as a bone substitute.
By the end of this activity students should be able to:
relate bone strength to its mineral content
recognise that hydroxyapatite is soluble in acid solutions
identify hydroxyapatite as a calcium phosphate mineral
describe bone as a specialised form of connective tissue.
Download the Word file (see link below) for:
introduction/background notes
instructions on what you need and what to do
discussion questions
ideas for extending your students
student worksheet.
Related content
Bone and tooth minerals The minerals found in human teeth and bones that give them their hardness and strength belong to a mineral family known as biological apatites. The biological apatites are forms of calcium hydroxyapatite. This resource looks at the chemical and physical properties of this mineral as found in tooth enamel, dentine and bone.
Bovine hydroxyapatite is being investigated as a possible human bone repair material. Instead of harvesting human bone (autografting) for use in the repair process, bovine hydroxyapatite is a possible alternative.
Related activity
Bone strength: create artificial bones made of paper to compare the relative strength of solid bones with hollow bones.
