Final answer:
In hand development, ossification of cartilage precedes the formation of bones, with ossification starting at a primary center in the cartilage and later at secondary centers. Initially the skeleton is cartilaginous, gradually turning into bone, leaving areas like growth plates for continued growth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The stages of hand development in regard to bone and cartilage involve a specific sequence where the relatively soft cartilage gradually turns into hard bone. This process, called ossification, starts with a cartilage model which serves as a template for bone formation. This model grows as ossification occurs.
Ossification begins at a primary ossification center in the central region of what will become the bone. Over time, the process also starts at secondary ossification centers at the ends of the bone. Initially, in a fetus, the skeleton consists almost entirely of cartilage, but through ossification, bone tissue is created from this cartilage. Throughout this period and into childhood, the bone develops on these cartilaginous structures, and by birth, while much of the cartilage has been replaced by bone, certain areas such as the growth plates and articular cartilage at synovial joints remain to allow for continuous growth and joint mobility.
Therefore, the correct answer to what would the stages of hand development look like in regards to bone and cartilage is (a) Ossification of cartilage precedes formation of bones, as the skeleton begins as cartilage which then ossifies to form bone.