Biology

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high importance~2 Q in Tier 14 formulas⚡ 12 shortcuts6 subtopics

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Vitamins, minerals and nutrition

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⏱ 6 min read🧩 6 question types🎯 21 practice Q

The idea in one minute

Vitamins

Vitamin	Chemical name	Deficiency disease	Sources
A	Retinol	Night blindness, xerophthalmia	Carrot, milk, fish-liver oil
B1	Thiamine	Beriberi	Whole grains
B2	Riboflavin	Cracked lips and mouth corners	Milk, eggs
B3	Niacin	Pellagra (the '3 D's' — dermatitis, diarrhoea, dementia)	Groundnut, meat
B9	Folic acid	Anaemia	Green leafy vegetables
B12	Cobalamin (contains cobalt)	Pernicious anaemia	Animal foods
C	Ascorbic acid	Scurvy (bleeding gums)	Amla, citrus fruits
D	Calciferol	Rickets (children), osteomalacia (adults)	Sunlight, fish oil
E	Tocopherol	Reproductive problems/sterility; an antioxidant	Vegetable oils, nuts
K	Phylloquinone	Blood does not clot (haemorrhage)	Green leafy vegetables

Fat-soluble: A, D, E, K. Water-soluble: B-complex and C (not stored; C is destroyed by heating).
Vitamin D is made in the skin in sunlight. The word 'vitamine' was coined by Casimir Funk.

Minerals

Mineral	Role / deficiency
Iron	Haemoglobin; deficiency → anaemia
Iodine	Thyroxine; deficiency → goitre
Calcium, phosphorus	Bones and teeth
Sodium, potassium	Nerve impulses, fluid balance
Fluorine	Tooth enamel (excess → fluorosis)

Macronutrients

Energy per gram: fat about 9 kcal, carbohydrate about 4 kcal, protein about 4 kcal.
Proteins are 'body-building' foods; carbohydrates are the main energy source; roughage (fibre) helps bowel movement.
Kwashiorkor — protein deficiency (swollen belly); marasmus — deficiency of both protein and calories.

Vitamins → deficiency diseases (the top table)

Vitamin	Chemical name	Deficiency disease	Source
A	Retinol	Night blindness, xerophthalmia	Carrot, papaya, milk
B₁	Thiamine	Beriberi	Whole grains, pulses
B₂	Riboflavin	Cheilosis (cracked lips)	Milk, eggs
B₃	Niacin	Pellagra (3 Ds)	Groundnut
B₁₂	Cyanocobalamin	Pernicious anaemia	Meat, milk
C	Ascorbic acid	Scurvy (bleeding gums)	Amla, citrus
D	Calciferol	Rickets (children), osteomalacia (adults)	Sunlight, fish oil
E	Tocopherol	Sterility	Wheat germ
K	Phylloquinone	Poor clotting	Green leafy vegetables
Fat-soluble: A, D, E, K (stored in the body — excess can harm). Water-soluble: B-complex and C (washed out daily). Casimir Funk (1912) coined the word 'vitamine'. Sunlight on the skin makes vitamin D. Cooking destroys vitamin C most easily.

Minerals → deficiency

Iron → anaemia (haemoglobin is iron-based); iodine → goitre (thyroxine); calcium → weak bones/teeth; phosphorus → bones + ATP; fluorine → too little causes dental caries, too much causes fluorosis; sodium and potassium → nerve and muscle function. Zinc: wound healing and immunity.

Malnutrition — the two classics

Kwashiorkor: protein deficiency with adequate calories — swollen belly, oedema, thin limbs, in children 1–3 years. Marasmus: deficiency of both protein and calories — the child is all skin and bones, under one year old. One-line hold: kwashiorkor = swollen, marasmus = shrunken. Obesity is the opposite imbalance; roughage (fibre) prevents constipation.

Food energy — the numbers

Component	Energy
Carbohydrate	4 kcal/g
Protein	4 kcal/g
Fat	9 kcal/g
Fat carries more than twice the energy per gram — hence a 30 g fat snack gives 30 × 9 = 270 kcal. A balanced diet splits roughly 60% carbohydrates, 25–30% fat, 10–15% protein of the calories. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the resting burn; an adult needs ≈ 2,000–2,500 kcal/day.

Question types you will see

Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.

Type 1very common6 practice Q

Vitamin → deficiency disease

How to spot it:

'Scurvy is caused by deficiency of…', 'rickets / beriberi / night blindness / pernicious anaemia', wrong-pair questions on the vitamin table.

Method

Sing the ladder: A–night blindness, B₁–beriberi, B₃–pellagra, B₁₂–pernicious anaemia, C–scurvy, D–rickets, E–sterility, K–clotting.
Alphabet anchor: C = Citrus = scurvy (sailors); D = sun = rickets; K = Koagulation = clotting.
In wrong-pair questions, check D–rickets and C–scurvy first — they are the usual deliberate swaps.

Why it works:

fixed pairs, zero logic — pure table recall.

Try this

Pernicious anaemia is caused by the deficiency of —

Show solution

Vitamin B₁₂ (cyanocobalamin). Ordinary iron-deficiency anaemia is a different, more common condition.

Type 2common3 practice Q

Vitamin sources and fat/water solubility

How to spot it:

'Which vitamins are fat-soluble', 'which vitamin is made in the skin by sunlight', 'rich source of vitamin C', 'which vitamin is destroyed by cooking'.

Method

Fat-soluble = A, D, E, K (they store in the liver/fat); water-soluble = B-complex, C.
Sunlight → vitamin D in the skin; cooking destroys vitamin C the most.
Sources: A–carrot/papaya, C–amla/citrus, D–fish oil/sun, K–green leafy vegetables.

Try this

Which set contains only fat-soluble vitamins?

Show solution

A, D, E, K — remember the word KEDA/ADKE. B-complex and C wash out with water every day.

Type 3common3 practice Q

Mineral → deficiency/role

How to spot it:

'Goitre is due to deficiency of…', 'anaemia is caused by lack of…', 'which mineral builds bones and teeth', 'fluorosis is due to excess…'.

Method

Iron–anaemia (haemoglobin); iodine–goitre (thyroxine); calcium+phosphorus–bones/teeth; fluorine–caries (less) or fluorosis (more).
Sodium/potassium–nerve signals; zinc–healing and immunity.
Both 'too little' and 'too much' of fluorine harm — a favourite trick option.

Try this

Anaemia (low haemoglobin) most commonly results from the deficiency of —

Show solution

Iron — haemoglobin is an iron pigment, so iron-poor blood carries less oxygen (fatigue, pale skin).

Type 4common2 practice Q

Malnutrition: kwashiorkor vs marasmus

How to spot it:

'Kwashiorkor is caused by deficiency of…', 'swollen belly disease of children', 'difference between kwashiorkor and marasmus', protein-calorie malnutrition questions.

Method

Kwashiorkor: protein deficient, calories adequate → oedema, swollen belly, thin limbs (age 1–3).
Marasmus: protein AND calories deficient → skin-and-bones, no swelling (below 1 year).
Memory line: kwashiorkor = swollen, marasmus = shrunken.

Try this

A child with a swollen belly but relatively adequate calorie intake suffers from —

Show solution

Kwashiorkor — protein deficiency; the swelling is oedema. Marasmus children are instead wasted and shrunken.

Type 5common2 practice Q

Food energy values (computed)

How to spot it:

'How much energy does 1 g of fat/carbohydrate give', a snack's total calories from given grams, 'which nutrient gives maximum energy', BMR questions.

Method

Fixed values: carbohydrate 4 kcal/g, protein 4 kcal/g, fat 9 kcal/g.
Fat gives the most energy per gram — the standard 'maximum energy' answer.
Compute totals part-wise: (fat g × 9) + (carb g × 4) + (protein g × 4); split multiplication into tens to stay fast.

Try this

A snack has 20 g fat and 10 g carbohydrate. Its energy is about —

Show solution

20 × 9 + 10 × 4 = 180 + 40 = 220 kcal — fat dominates because it carries 9 kcal/g.

Type 6occasional2 practice Q

Vitamin history and misc facts

How to spot it:

'Who coined the word vitamin', 'which vitamin is called ascorbic acid', chemical names of vitamins, 'deficiency of which vitamin affects gums'.

Method

Casimir Funk coined 'vitamine' (1912).
Chemical names: A–retinol, B₁–thiamine, B₂–riboflavin, B₁₂–cyanocobalamin, C–ascorbic acid, D–calciferol, E–tocopherol, K–phylloquinone.
Bleeding gums = scurvy = vitamin C (ascorbic acid) — the acid name is the giveaway.

Try this

The word 'vitamine' was coined by —

Show solution

Casimir Funk (1912). He thought all such factors were amines; the final 'e' was later dropped.

Shortcuts that save time

⚡ Fat-soluble vitamins: 'KADE' (or 'ADEK')

A, D, E, K dissolve in fat and are stored in the body; B and C dissolve in water.

⚡ Deficiency pairs: 'A-Andha (night blind), B1-Beriberi, C-sCurvy, D-Deformed bones (rickets), K-Klotting'

Add B3 — Pellagra ('3 D's) and B12 — Pernicious anaemia (cobalt).

Example

Deficiency of which vitamin causes beriberi?

Show solution

Vitamin B1 (thiamine).

Mistakes to avoid

Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.

Mistake 01

Linking scurvy to vitamin D — scurvy is vitamin C; rickets is vitamin D.

Mistake 02

Calling vitamin C fat-soluble — it is water-soluble and destroyed by cooking heat.

Mistake 03

Mixing up kwashiorkor (protein only) and marasmus (protein + calories).

Quick revision

Read this the night before the exam.

A–night blindness, B₁–beriberi, B₃–pellagra, B₁₂–pernicious anaemia, C–scurvy, D–rickets, E–sterility, K–clotting.
Fat-soluble A D E K; water-soluble B and C; 'vitamine' = Casimir Funk; vitamin D from sunlight.
Iron–anaemia, iodine–goitre, calcium–bones, fluorine–caries/fluorosis.
Kwashiorkor = protein (swollen); marasmus = protein + calories (shrunken).
Energy: carb 4, protein 4, fat 9 kcal/g.

Practice: 21 questions

Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.

Topic test · 10 questions

Suggested time 3 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.

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