Answer
A chemical element is the simplest substance or form of matter (made up of only one type of atom) to have distinct chemical properties. The 6 most abundant chemicals in the human body are oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Trace elements are important to physiology because they are responsible for healthy human growth and body structure.
Work Step by Step
When we hear the term "element", we normally think of the periodic table. The periodic table contains all of the chemical elements, which are individual substances where each atom contains the same number of protons. The 6 most abundant chemicals in the human body account for 98.5% of a body's mass, with oxygen having the largest presence. Trace elements (often minerals) only account for 0.7% of a body's mass, but they are still vital to our health. They have to be consumed in small quantities, so they can help carry out human functions without causing detrimental effects to the human body.
