(a)(i) What is a deficiency disease? (ii) Complete the table below by naming five nutrient deficiency diseases in humans and stating one remedy for each of ...
Question 1 Report
(a)(i) What is a deficiency disease?
(ii) Complete the table below by naming five nutrient deficiency diseases in humans and stating one remedy for each of the diseases.
(b) Outline a chemical test for (i) Starch in a tuber of yam (ii) Glucose in orange fruit
| Nutrient deficiency disease | Remedy |
Answer Details
(a)(i) What is a deficiency disease?
A deficiency disease is a disease that results from the lack or inadequate supply of a particular nutrient (such as a vitamin or a mineral element) in the diet over a period of time.
(a)(ii) Five nutrient deficiency diseases and their remedies
| Nutrient deficiency disease | Remedy |
|---|---|
| Scurvy (lack of vitamin C) | Eat fresh citrus fruits and vegetables (oranges, guava, tomatoes) |
| Rickets (lack of vitamin D) | Take vitamin D, milk and eggs; expose the body to sunlight |
| Kwashiorkor (lack of protein) | Eat protein-rich foods (beans, fish, meat, milk, eggs) |
| Anaemia (lack of iron) | Eat iron-rich foods (liver, green leafy vegetables); take iron supplements |
| Goitre (lack of iodine) | Use iodised table salt; eat sea foods |
(Night blindness from lack of vitamin A, corrected by eating carrots, red palm oil and green vegetables, is an acceptable alternative.)
(b) Chemical tests
(i) Test for starch in a tuber of yam
- Place a small piece of the yam on a white tile.
- Add two or three drops of iodine solution to it.
- Observation: the yam turns blue-black.
- Inference: starch is present.
(ii) Test for glucose in orange fruit
- Put some orange juice into a test tube.
- Add an equal volume of Benedict's (or Fehling's) solution.
- Heat the mixture in a water bath (boil).
- Observation: the blue colour changes through green and yellow to a brick-red precipitate.
- Inference: a reducing sugar (glucose) is present.
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