Relate bone structure to function
Connect the two kinds of bone tissue (compact and spongy) to the jobs each one does in the body.
- Structure determines function: A dense layout is strong; an open layout is light. You need this idea to predict what each bone tissue is good at.
- What a tissue is: Bone is a tissue (a group of similar cells doing one job). Knowing that frames compact and spongy as two arrangements of the same tissue.
Prerequisites are inferred: pending teacher review.
Re-learn the skill with worked practice and clear examples.
Compact bone is the dense outer layer that gives strength. Spongy bone is the inner lattice that keeps the bone lighter and holds marrow.
A student looks at a sliced femur. The hard outer wall along the shaft is one kind of bone tissue, and the inner part at the ends is full of tiny open spaces. Which statement correctly pairs each tissue with its job?
Reviewed- A.The dense outer wall is spongy bone for strength; the open inner part is compact bone for lightness
- B.The dense outer wall is compact bone for strength; the open inner part is spongy bone that holds marrow
- C.Both the wall and the inner part are compact bone
- D.Both the wall and the inner part are spongy bone
Show the worked solution ▾
Answer: B. The dense outer wall is compact bone for strength; the open inner part is spongy bone that holds marrow
- Step 1: Identify by build: Dense and hard means compact; full of open spaces means spongy.
- Step 2: Attach the job: Compact gives strength; spongy is lighter and holds marrow in its spaces.
Why it's right: The dense outer wall is compact bone (strength) and the open inner part is spongy bone (lighter, holds marrow), so the labels and jobs both match.
- A: This swaps the two names: dense is compact, not spongy.
- C: The open inner part is spongy, not compact.
- D: The dense outer wall is compact, not spongy.
Aligned to HBS: bone tissue structure and function · reading level ~grade 9
- A radiologist reading an X-ray sees the bright dense rim (compact bone) and the lacy interior (spongy bone) and uses both to judge bone health.
Fill these in as you work through the lesson.
- Compact bone (the hard outer part you can knock on):
- Spongy bone (the inner part with open spaces):
- Bone marrow (soft tissue tucked inside the bone):
- Femur (the long thigh bone):
The dense outer layer of a bone is bone, which gives the bone its . The open inner lattice is bone, which keeps the bone .
- Point to where you would find compact bone and where you would find spongy bone in a long bone like the femur.
- Why would a bone made entirely of compact tissue be a problem for a running body?
- Name one job the open spaces of spongy bone make possible.
A long bone is cut down the middle. The wall is hard and dense; the center near each end is full of tiny open spaces. Label which part is compact and which is spongy, and give the job of each.