The Importance of Chemical Elements for Living Beings

The Chemical elements are of great importance to living beings , Since without the former the life of the latter would not be possible.

Elements are substances that can not be decomposed by other substances. Today there are 115 chemical elements, which are divided into metals, transition metals, nonmetals and noble gases.

Importance of Chemical Elements for Living Beings

In turn, the chemical elements are divided into 18 groups:

  • Metals: alkali metals (group 1) and alkaline earth metals (group 2).
  • Transition metals: family of scandium (group 3), family of titanium (group 4), family of vanadium (group 5), family of chromium (group 6), family of manganese (group 7), family of iron ), Cobalt family (group 9), nickel family (group 10), copper family (group 11) and zinc family (group 12).
  • No metals: earthy (group 13), carbonid (group 14), nitrogenogens (group 15), calgogens (group 16) and halogens (group 17).
  • Noble gases (group 18).

Two or more elements can be combined to produce more complex compounds. In fact, the whole matter Existent is composed of chemical elements, even living beings (plants, animals and humans) are conglomerates of billions of atoms. Hence its importance.

Chemical elements and living things

As stated above, living things are composed of multiple chemical elements. It should be noted that the most frequently encountered in living organisms are carbon, hydrogen , Oxygen and nitrogen , Which constitute 90% of living matter.

These four elements are the components of certain biological (or organic) molecules such as carbohydrates, proteins, Lipids and the nucleic acids (Such as ribonucleic acid -ARN- and deoxyribonucleic acid -ADN-). Other elements, such as phosphorus, sulfur, calcium and potassium, are found in lesser amounts.

Carbon and living things

Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe and is the essential basis of life on planet Earth.

As explained in the previous section, all living things are composed of carbon. This element has a molecular structure that allows you to create multiple links with multiple elements, which is an advantage.

Carbon flows through the earth, the ocean and the atmosphere , Creating what is known as the carbon cycle.

The carbon cycle

The carbon cycle refers to the recycling process of this element. Animals consume glucose (C6H1206) during food metabolism and respiration.

This molecule combines with oxygen (02), thus generating carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H02) and energy, which is released as heat.

Animals do not need carbon dioxide, so they release it into the atmosphere. On the other hand, plants can take advantage of this gas through a process called" photosynthesis ". This process requires the presence of three elements:

  1. Carbon dioxide, which enters the plants through the stomata in their leaves.
  2. Water, which is absorbed thanks to the roots of plants.
  3. Solar energy, which is captured by chlorophyll.

CO2, added to the molecules of water and energy from sunlight, allows plants:

  1. Release oxygen during the light phase of photosynthesis.
  2. They synthesize carbohydrates, such as glucose, during the dark phase of photosynthesis.
Chemical reaction of photosynthesis
  • CO 2 + H 2 T the Light and chlorophyll → CH 2 O + O 2
  • Carbon Dioxide + Water + Light → Carbohydrates + oxygen

Animals collect oxygen and consume glucose from plants and so begins the cycle again.

Influence of other elements on plants, animals and prokaryotes

The following table presents some of the roles played by sulfur, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and sodium in plants, animals and prokaryotes.

The Importance of Chemical Elements for Living Beings

References

  1. The Periodic Table: Atoms, Elements, and Isotopes - Genesis Mission. Retrieved on May 4, 2017, from genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov.
  2. The History and Use of Our Earth's Chemical Elements. Retrieved on May 4, 2017, from univpgri-palembang.ac.id.
  3. Introduction to Chemistry, Atoms and Elements. Retrieved on May 4, 2017, from utc.edu.
  4. Matter: Elements and Compounds. Retrieved on May 4, 2017, from home.ku.edu.tr.
  5. Chemical Elements. Retrieved on May 4, 2017, from minsocam.org.
  6. 100 Most Important Chemical Compounds: A Reference Guide Retrieved on May 4, 2017, from bitdownload.ir.
  7. Teaching Chemistry Through History: The Importance of The Periodic. Retrieved on May 4, 2017, from euchems.eu.
  8. Chemical Elements. Retrieved on May 4, 2017, from ibbiologyhelp.com.


Loading ..

Recent Posts

Loading ..