Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element. Some "minerals" are essential for life, but most are not. [1] [2] [3] Minerals are one of the four groups of essential nutrients; the others are vitamins, essential fatty acids, and essential amino acids. [4] The five major minerals in the human body are calcium, phosphorus ...
Differences in chemical composition and crystal structure distinguish the various species. Within a mineral species there may be variation in physical properties or minor amounts of impurities that are recognized by mineralogists or wider society as a mineral variety. Mineral variety names are listed after the valid minerals for each letter.
Minerals are distinguished by various chemical and physical properties. Differences in chemical composition and crystal structure distinguish the various species. Within a mineral species there may be variation in physical properties or minor amounts of impurities that are recognized by mineralogists or wider society as a mineral variety.
A trace element is a chemical element of a minute quantity, a trace amount, especially used in referring to a micronutrient, [1] [2] but is also used to refer to minor elements in the composition of a rock, or other chemical substance. In nutrition, trace elements are classified into two groups: essential trace elements, and non-essential trace ...
Minerals are the exogenous chemical elements indispensable for life. Although the four elements: carbon , hydrogen , oxygen , and nitrogen ( CHON ) are essential for life, they are so plentiful in food and drink that these are not considered nutrients and there are no recommended intakes for these as minerals.
Vitamins and minerals are essential to the proper functioning and maintenance of the human body. [114] There are 20 trace elements and minerals that are essential in small quantities to body function and overall human health. [114] Iron deficiency is the most common inadequate nutrient worldwide, affecting approximately 2 billion people. [115]
An example of a transparent mineral is muscovite (potassium mica); some varieties are sufficiently clear to have been used for windows. Translucent minerals allow some light to pass, but less than those that are transparent. Jadeite and nephrite (mineral forms of jade are examples of minerals with this property). Minerals that do not allow ...
The classification of minerals is a process of determining to which of several groups minerals belong based on their chemical characteristics. Since the 1950s, this classification has been carried out by the International Mineralogical Association, which classifies minerals into the following broad classes: Classification of non-silicate minerals