Plants & Mineral Ions (Edexcel IGCSE Biology)

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Mineral Ions

  • Photosynthesis provides a source of carbohydrates, but plants contain and require many other types of biological molecule; such as proteins, lipids and nucleic acids (DNA)
  • As plants do not eat, they need to make these substances themselves
  • Carbohydrates contain the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen but proteins, for example, contain nitrogen as well (and certain amino acids contain other elements too)
  • Two fundamental mineral ions required by plants are nitrogen and magnesium, without a source of these elements, plants cannot photosynthesise or grow properly
  • Plants obtain these elements in the form of mineral ions actively absorbed from the soil by root hair cells
  • ‘Mineral’ is a term used to describe any naturally occurring inorganic substance

Mineral ion function and deficiencies in plants table

Mineral Requirements table

Mineral deficiencies in plants

The effect of mineral deficiencies on plants

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Lára

Author: Lára

Expertise: Biology Lead

Lára graduated from Oxford University in Biological Sciences and has now been a science tutor working in the UK for several years. Lára has a particular interest in the area of infectious disease and epidemiology, and enjoys creating original educational materials that develop confidence and facilitate learning.