Elements in the Human Body and What They Do

Elements in the Human Body and What They Do There are several ways to consider the composition of the human body, including the elements, type of molecule, or type of cells.  Most of the human body is made up of water, H2O, with cells consisting of 65-90% water by weight. Therefore, it isnt surprising that most of a human bodys mass is oxygen. Carbon, the basic unit for organic molecules, comes in second. 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of just six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Oxygen (O) - 65% - Oxygen together with hydrogen form water, which is the primary solvent found in the body and is used to regulate temperature and osmotic pressure. Oxygen is found in many key organic compounds.Carbon (C) - 18% - Carbon has four bonding sites for other atoms, which makes it the key atom for organic chemistry. Carbon chains are used to build carbohydrates, fats, nucleic acids, and proteins. Breaking bonds with carbon is an energy source.Hydrogen (H) - 10% - Hydrogen is found in water and in all organic molecules.Nitrogen (N) - 3% - Nitrogen is found in proteins and in the nucleic acids that make up the genetic code.Calcium (Ca) - 1.5% - Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body. Its used as a structural material in bones, but it is essential for protein regulation and muscle contraction.Phosphorus (P) - 1.0% - Phosphorus is found in the molecule ATP, which is the primary energy carrier in cells. Its also found in bone.Potassium (K) - 0.35% - Potassium is an im portant electrolyte. Its used to transmit nerve impulses and heartbeat regulation.Sulfur (S) - 0.25% - Two amino acids include sulfur. The bonds sulfur forms help give proteins the shape they need to perform their functions.Sodium (Na) - 0.15% - Sodium is an important electrolyte. Like potassium, it is used for nerve signaling. Sodium is one of the electrolytes that helps regulate the amount of water in the body.Chlorine (Cl) - 0.15% -  Chlorine is an important negatively-charged ion (anion) used to maintain fluid balance.Magnesium (Mg) - 0.05% - Magnesium is involved in over 300 metabolic reactions. Its used to build the structure of muscles and bones and is an important cofactor in enzymatic reactions.Iron (Fe) - 0.006% - Iron is found in hemoglobin, the molecule responsible for oxygen transport in red blood cells.Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Selenium (Se), Molybdenum (Mo), Fluorine (F), Iodine (I), Manganese (Mn), Cobalt (Co) - total less than 0.70%Lithium (Li), Strontium (Sr), Alum inum (Al), Silicon (Si), Lead (Pb), Vanadium (V), Arsenic (As), Bromine (Br) - present in trace amounts Many other elements may be found in extremely small quantities. For example, the human body often contains trace amounts of thorium, uranium, samarium, tungsten, beryllium, and radium. Trace elements considered essential in humans include zinc, iodine, possibly silicon, probably boron, selenium, probably nickel, chromium, manganese, lithium, possibly arsenic, molybdenum, cobalt, and possibly vanadium. Not all of the elements found within the body are essential for life. Some are considered contaminants that appear to do no harm, but serve no known function. Examples include cesium and titanium. Others are actively toxic, including mercury, cadmium, and the radioactive elements. Arsenic is considered to be toxic to humans, but serves a function in other mammals (goats, rats, hamsters) in trace amounts. Aluminum is interesting because it is the third most common element in the Earths crust, yet serves no known function in living cells. While fluorine is used by plants to produce protective toxins, it serves no essential biological role in human beings. You may also wish to view the  elemental composition of an average human body  by mass. Sources Chang, Raymond (2007). Chemistry, 9th Edition. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-110595-6.Emsley, John (2011). Natures Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. OUP Oxford. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-19-960563-7.Frausto Da Silva, J. J. R; Williams, R. J. P (2001-08-16). The Biological Chemistry of the Elements: The Inorganic Chemistry of Life. ISBN 9780198508489.H. A., V. W. Rodwell; P. A. Mayes, Review of Physiological Chemistry, 16th ed., Lange Medical Publications, Los Altos, California 1977.Zumdahl, Steven S. and Susan A. (2000). Chemistry, 5th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 894. ISBN 0-395-98581-1.

Lord Of The Flies Character Analysis Essay - 718 Words

Have you ever thought what type of hardships children would deal with when stranded on an island? This question is answered in the story called Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding. The character focused on will be a boy named Ralph, a blond boy who is built like a boxer. He, Ralph, is the main character, is perceived as the protagonist, and is seen as the leader. Ralph lead the other children with rudimentary leadership, his obsession with fires, he blew the conch that started everything, and made himself into a chief by election, this position made some of the other big kids/candidates angry and apprehensive. In the beginning, Ralph, the main character, blows a conch that is laying on the beach shore, convincing the other†¦show more content†¦This belief is the main reason why some of the other children are dead, Simon, Piggy, and the ‘Marked Child’ for example, and it’s all his fault because of his obsession with the signal fire. Knowing this, it should be concluded that Ralph’s obsession with fire is a very dangerous one as everyone starts to dislike him and eventually turn on him, and also makes them kill at least 3 children in the process. As proclaimed, the bigger kids became apprehensive against Ralph because they wanted Jack and his leadership instead of Ralph. Jack is one of the hunters who was leading them, the hunters, before their crash landing on the island. These misleading apprehensions lead the boys, the hunters, to eventually become intransigent to other voices of reason. One quote supporting this claim includes the following: â€Å"‘You wouldn’t care to help with the shelters, I suppose?’ ‘We want meat—‘† this quote helps to support the claim that Jack only wants to do one thing, hunt, and nothing else (Golding 71). Eventually, this apprehension of Ralph and his rationale lead to the death of Piggy and Simon, and to the eventual hunt for Ralph in the final chapter. . Ralph lead the other children with rudimentary leadership, he obsessed over fires, he blew the conch that started everything, and made himself into a chief by election, this position made some of the other big kids/candidates angry and apprehensive. Ralph blew theShow MoreRelatedLord Of The Flies Character Analysis Essay1414 Words   |  6 Pages Analysis of Societal Constructs Displayed in LORD â€Å"We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable; that all men are created equal and independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness†. 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To do so, they elect a fair-haired and att ractiveRead MoreLord Of The Flies Simon Character Analysis Essay852 Words   |  4 PagesLord of the Flies: William Golding In Lord of the Flies, Simon shows to be an important role in the story as he uncovers the mystery of the beastie. He is seen to be shy and to himself but soon shows his full brain capability and what he can offer to the group but it goes unnoticed. His personality is unique and shows much potential, as does mine. Both me and Simon are independent, sensitive, and introverted as this presents an idealistic nature. Simon is one to resist the influence of those aroundRead MoreLord of the Flies: Character Analysis of Ralph Essay613 Words   |  3 PagesImagine a world without order. A world with no leadershipÂâ€"no rationality whatsoever. Take Ralphs character away from the equation and William Goldings Lord of the Flies would be just thatÂâ€"chaos. Being the protagonist of the novel, Ralph is the major representative of civilization, order, and productive leadership. If it werent for Ralphs coordination, determination, and logical thinking, the boys would never be rescued, and would eventually die. As the novel progresses, Ralphs self-confidenceRead MorePiggy Character Analysis - Lord of the Flies Essay985 Words   |  4 PagesIn every piece of literature there is always one character that stands out to me. Coincidentally, the characters I usually choose to admire are the weak, unpopular, failure types. In the book â€Å"Lord of the Flies† by William Golding the character that stood out to me most was Piggy. He was the boy whose real name was never mentioned, but his real name wouldn’t be as symbolic as the nickname he had throughout the book. Throughout the earlier chapters I pictured Piggy as the run of the mill loser that

Adolescence and Teenagers free essay sample

Teenagers spending time at night It is a common phenomenon seeing teenagers hanging out at night in big cities. Places which teenagers like to hang out are shopping malls, computer games centers and sometimes, roadsides. These places have become teenagers’ favourite places because they can meet other teenagers to socialize. Teenagers start congregate at these places since evening and some of them even stay out late loitering aimlessly. Many adults feel that it is risky to allow teenagers to loiter at night. However, some parents think that it is just a phase in life which adolescence feel that they need to mix around with their peer group. These parents tend to give too much freedom to their teenage children because they think that they should not deprive of their children’s freedom to mingle with friends. Nevertheless, not every parent agrees that teenagers should be allowed to go out at night too often. We will write a custom essay sample on Adolescence and Teenagers or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These parents are obviously concerned that when their teenage children spend time out of the house too frequent at night, their children will spend only little time at home with their own family members. When two parents are working, the only time which is available for quality family time is at night. Parents are also worried who their teenage children’s companions are and what influence their children will get from their companions. In addition, parents are also concerned about the food their children consume. It is definitely unhealthy for teenagers to spend their time at fast food outlets which serve high greasy and sugar-contained food. Overeating at night could result in obesity and diabetic. Besides, undesirable and inconsiderate habit of wasting the parents’ hard earned money will be developed.

Privatization Of Telstra Essays - Telstra, , Term Papers

Privatization Of Telstra What are the advantages of privatizing Telstra and how does this impact it's ethical conduct while striving to satisfy community expectations? I believe that putting important public assets into select private hands is not in Australia's long-term interests, and oppose the partial/full sale of Telstra for the reasons that the Government has given. The argument the Government has given for the privatization and corporatisation of Telstra has been a budget conscious one where the proceeds of Telstra will provide a "one-off" opportunity to: 1) abolish Telstra's pastoral call rate and provide untimed local calls in extended zones in remote Australia; 2) increase funding for Networking the nation; and 3) pay off foreign debt left over by the previous government However, this is not true as the Minister, Senator Alston already has the power to direct Telstra to provide services and upgrade infrastructure (points 1 and 2). If the USO (Universal Service Obligations Act) or performance standards under the CSG need changing, then the Minister should invoke his power to direct, and these changes should be made distinct from any attempts to sell Telstra. Statistics also show that the sale of the first third netted a total of $0.37 billion loss to the Commonwealth. By the year 2000, it is estimated that Telstra earnings will exceed $2 billion annually. The Howard Government estimats an interest saving of about $2.4 billion per year. This doesn't take into account the income that will be lost to the government every year in revenue earnings from Telstra. By 2007, the sale of Telstra is expected to create a budget black hole of $4 billion. The government cites that the "Mums and Dads" of Australia will benefit by purchasing shares in the float, which is true. But eventually the real beneficiaries will be the multinational companies who will have the controlling majority, not the Australian public. This can have detrimental effects on society, especially to the rural regions of Australia. The Democrats and the Labor Party also disapprove of the privatization of Telstra for the above reasons. Privatization is when a Government Business Entity (Statutory Body) is sold to the general public and becomes a public company. There is a belief that Government run businesses are inefficient because their motive isn't necessarily money, although there is no consistent evidence that privatization increases efficiency. However in the case of Telstra, there have been clear signs of deterioration in services since it's partial privatization. Delays are longer on connection and service times. Recent changes to the charging regime for community calls will impact on costs, particularly for small business, in rural and regional areas. (One in three rural customers were denied connections to new services ~ SMH 5/2/99) Rural and regional customers also suffered the biggest fall in standards for repairing faults. The Telstra Communications Network is also set to suffer shutdowns along the lines of the power cuts in Queensland and Auckland. All these factors can contribute to the downward spiralling of the essential qualities of life for country families. This deterioration in services has been a direct consequence of privatization, where the focus of the company has shifted to profits rather than providing a cheap and efficient service. Another example of this can be seen when according to the Media (ABC), Telstra reaches an excess of funds of up to $1.5 billion as a result of staff/service cuts. The Board of Directors are urging for a special dividend to shareholders or a share buyback (to increase share prices). No one is suggesting the obvious, strategic investment. Privatization has also made an impact on the working conditions of employees. One of the first stages of structural reform that Telstra implemented was downsizing and the cutting of working conditions of over 60 000 workers (formerly) employed by Telstra, after experts claimed that there is an excessive labour load of about 27000 strong. As Telstra was previously a GBE, it's structure was "suboptimal" in a business sense ie: Telstra's activities exceed what it would have undertaken in a free market. This has given it one of the worst staff to phone line ratios in the advanced world. After 15 months of negotiations with the Communications Electrical and Plumbers Union (CEPU), the standardisation of ordinary hours for full time employees, introduction of 3 main work streams and the extension of shift arrangements to all sections was agreed upon. Many workers suffered pay losses when they were re-graded. The Financial review (17/2/99) records that in 1998, Telstra's labour costs dropped 7.7% (the number of it's employees fell by 20000), despite a