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Vitamins, Minerals, and Protein Science

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Vitamins, Minerals, and Protein Science

A community sports club is planning a food-science display. Use the evidence and your knowledge of nutrients to assess claims, interpret the data and explain what happens to protein during cooking. Nutrient needs vary between people; this worksheet is about science, not personal dietary advice.

Case file A: nutrient clues

Use the nutrient evidence table for Questions 1–4. Amounts are illustrative values per serve, not a full nutrition assessment.

Food

Protein (g)

Calcium (mg)

Other nutrient clue

Plain yoghurt

250

Calcium supports bones and teeth; also contributes to muscle and nerve function.

Cooked lentils

Iron helps make haemoglobin, which carries oxygen in red blood cells.

Orange

—

Vitamin C supports collagen formation and helps the body absorb non-haem iron from plant foods.

Egg

Protein supplies amino acids for making and repairing body proteins.

1.Which listed food supplies the most calcium per serve, and what is one role of calcium in the body?

2.A student eats lentils with a squeeze of orange juice. Explain how the vitamin C in the orange may affect iron absorption from the lentils.

3.Which statement best explains why the body needs protein?

Protein is the body's only source of energy.
Proteins are made from amino acids and have roles in building and repairing tissues and making enzymes.
Protein replaces the need for vitamins and minerals.
Protein is stored as oxygen in red blood cells.

4.A club member says, “Plant foods cannot provide useful protein.” Use the lentil evidence and one further example of a plant protein food to correct this claim.

Case file B: the changing egg

An egg white is mostly water and protein. When heated, its proteins unfold and form new interactions with one another, creating a network that changes the white from clear and runny to opaque and firm. This change is called denaturation followed by coagulation. The amino acids do not turn into minerals or disappear.

5.Use the egg evidence to explain why cooking changes egg white from clear to white and runny to firm. Include the term denaturation.

6.True or false: denaturation means a protein's amino-acid building blocks are destroyed. Correct the statement if it is false.

TrueFalse

Case file C: check the claims

Read each claim carefully. Vitamins and minerals are needed in relatively small amounts, but that does not make them unimportant.

7.Match each nutrient to its strongest clue: vitamin D; iron; vitamin A; sodium. Clues: supports calcium absorption and bone health; forms part of haemoglobin; supports normal vision; helps regulate fluid balance and nerve signalling.

Vitamin D
Iron
Vitamin A
Sodium

Forms part of haemoglobin
Supports calcium absorption and bone health
Supports normal vision
Helps regulate fluid balance and nerve signalling

8.A poster says, “Because minerals originate in rocks and soil, people should eat soil to obtain them.” Identify the faulty reasoning and give a scientifically sound correction.

9.Vitamin A and vitamin C are both vitamins, but their roles differ. State one function of each and explain why vitamins should not be described as the body's main energy source.

10.The club wants one evidence-based display caption linking food, nutrients and body function. Write a two-sentence caption using at least two foods from the table and correctly naming the nutrient or function each illustrates.