Minerals and Nutrients

Iron is an important component of hemoglobin which is present in red blood cells. It carries oxygen from lungs to different parts of the body. Sources of iron includes sunflower seeds, nuts, beef, beans, green leafy vegetables, tofu, amla, jaggery. Iron deficiency can leads to anemia, that is low number of hemoglobin as there is insufficient iron in the body to produce enough of hemoglobin.

The phenomenon of breaking up of water into hydrogen and oxygen in the illuminated chloroplasts is called photolysis or photocatalytic splitting of water. It can be depicted as: $4H _{2} O \rightleftharpoons 4H^{+} + 4OH^{-}$
   $4OH^{-}\xrightarrow[Mn^{2} + ,Ca^{2} +, CI^{-}]{Oxygen \,\, evolving \,\, complex} 2H _{2}O + O _{2}\uparrow + 4e^- $

Nodulation in legumes requires several minerals, but sulphur and potassium are critical for the development of nodules and the synthesis of nitrogenase enzymes.

Blood clotting factors are needed for blood to clot (coagulation). Prothrombin is one of the clotting factors made by the liver. During normal blood coagulation, a coagulation cascade activates prothrombin by converting it into the serine protease thrombin. Thrombin then converts the soluble fibrinogen into insoluble fibrin strands. These strands are then cross-linked by factor XIII to form a blood clot. As soon as blood from a wound is exposed to the air, the platelets disintegrate and react with fibrinogen to create fibrin: a mass of tiny threads. This triggers a whole series of reactions that rely on adequate levels of calcium and vitamin K to work. Calcium is also an important part of the blood clotting process. Elastin is a highly elastic protein in connective tissue and allows many tissues in the body to resume their shape after stretching or contracting. It is not present in the blood.

Green plants generally do not suffer from phosphorus deficiency because it is a vital component of nucleic acids, ATP, and phospholipids, and plants have evolved efficient uptake mechanisms. While other elements are also essential, phosphorus is frequently cited in this context regarding plant nutrition and soil availability.

Phosphorus is a critical component of ATP, which is the primary energy carrier in cells, and it is essential for the process of photosynthesis in plants.

Estimation of calcium and magnesium is done by EDTA in complexometric titration. Hexadentate ligand EDTA (ethylene diammine tetra acetate) forms metal chelates with calcium and magnesium. 

•  A neural signal reaching this junction releases a neurotransmitter (Acetylcholine) which generates an action potential in the sarcolemma. This spreads through the muscle fibre and causes the release of calcium ions into the sarcoplasm
  
• Active sites for myosin are present on actin which are masked by troponin-C in resting state. When Ca++ level increases it leads to the binding of calcium with a subunit of troponin i.e Troponin-C on actin(thin) filaments and thereby remove the masking of active sites for myosin.
  
• Utilizing the energy from ATP hydrolysis, the myosin head now binds to the exposed active sites on actin to form a cross bridge. 
• This pulls the attached actin filaments towards the centre of ‘A’ band.
  
• The ‘Z’ line attached to these actins are also pulled inwards thereby causing a shortening of the sarcomere, i.e., contraction. The myosin, releasing the ADP and P1 goes back to its relaxed state. Hence Ca$^{2+}$ is required for muscle contraction and nerve impulse transmission.
• So, the correct answer is 'Ca 2+'.

Magnesium is an important macronutrient required by plants in large quantity. Magnesium is a constituent of chlorophyll pigment and is required as an essential cofactor for all the reactions catalysed by kinase enzymes like hexokinase. Magnesium is also important for structural integrity of ribosomes. Ribosomes are the cell organelles involved in protein synthesis.

Tracer elements are radioisotopes which are used to trace the path of molecules in metabolic pathways. Thus elucidating the metabolic pathway. For example an important experiment proving that DNA carries genetic information, was based on tracer techniques. In 1952 Alfred D. Hershey and Martha Chase used radioactive phosphorus (32P) and radioactive sulfur (35S) tracers to show that when the bacterial virus (bacteriophage)T2 infects its host cell, Escherichia coli, it is the phosphorus-containing DNA of the viral particle, not the sulfur-containing protein of the viral coat, that enters the host cell and furnishes the genetic information for viral replication.

Water is basic necessity for all terrestrial forms of life.

An inorganic nutrient is essentially any compound or element that is not carbon-based, but is otherwise necessary to maintain health and optimum growth of a plant, animal, or human. Nitrogen is an inorganic nutrient that is later converted to organic forms like nitrite, nitrate or ammonia.

The body uses minerals to perform many different functions from building strong bones to transmitting nerve impulses. Some minerals are even used to make hormones or maintain a normal heartbeat. 

Potassium (K) and Chloride (Cl) ions are the primary minerals responsible for maintaining the osmotic potential and cation-anion balance within plant cells.