Which term refers to inorganic elements essential to the body?

Which term refers to inorganic elements essential to the body?

• A. Minerals
• B. Vitamins
• C. Antibiotics
• D. Ion

Answer: (A)

Minerals are inorganic elements essential to the body. They come from food and are needed for many functions, such as building bones (calcium, phosphorus), carrying oxygen in the blood (iron), maintaining fluid balance and nerve signaling (sodium, potassium, chloride), and serving as cofactors for enzymes (zinc, magnesium, others). Vitamins are organic compounds the body needs in smaller amounts, not inorganic elements. Antibiotics are medications used to treat infections, not essential nutrients. An ion is a charged particle; minerals often exist as ions in the body, but the term that names the essential inorganic elements themselves is minerals.

Minerals are inorganic elements essential to the body. They come from food and are needed for many functions, such as building bones (calcium, phosphorus), carrying oxygen in the blood (iron), maintaining fluid balance and nerve signaling (sodium, potassium, chloride), and serving as cofactors for enzymes (zinc, magnesium, others). Vitamins are organic compounds the body needs in smaller amounts, not inorganic elements. Antibiotics are medications used to treat infections, not essential nutrients. An ion is a charged particle; minerals often exist as ions in the body, but the term that names the essential inorganic elements themselves is minerals.