Elements Weaving Our Daily Lives
Have you ever looked at a light bulb and thought about tungsten? Or known that the aluminum in your soda can participated in star formation? The periodic table isn't just a chart in dusty laboratories; it's the map of matter that makes up everything we touch, breathe, and are.
Over 97% of our body's mass comes from just 10 elements 1 , and everyday objects like phones, food, or medicines are complex combinations of these cosmic building blocks. In this journey, we'll discover how 25 biologically essential elements 1 and others created by humans weave the invisible fabric of our daily existence.
The acronym CHON (Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen) summarizes the structural elements of life:
Basis of proteins, fats and DNA. Present in all foods, from chocolate to apples 4 .
Used as a preservative gas in bags of fresh salads to displace oxygen and slow decomposition 4 .
Together they form water (H₂O), where O contributes 88.89% of its mass 4 .
Although needed in trace amounts (parts per million), their absence causes diseases:
| Element | Biological Function | Daily Source | Fact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron (Fe) | Key in hemoglobin | Red meat, spinach | Women need 18mg/day, men 10mg 4 |
| Fluorine (F) | Strengthens tooth enamel | Toothpaste (95% contain it) 4 | Prevents cavities |
| Silicon (Si) | Bone reinforcement | Milk, tomatoes | Abundant in Earth's crust |
| Element | Biological Function | Daily Source |
|---|---|---|
| Calcium (Ca) | Bone formation | Dairy, broccoli |
| Phosphorus (P) | DNA component | Fish, eggs |
| Zinc (Zn) | Immunity | Nuts, seafood |
| Magnesium (Mg) | Enzyme activator | Spinach, almonds |
Neurotoxic in high doses, but present in pots, cans and onions 4 . Its lightness makes it ideal for airplanes.
Used in sunscreens (as oxide) and medical prostheses for its biocompatibility 4 .
The soul of mobile batteries and mood stabilizer in bipolar drugs .
Hardens Pyrex glass in your heat-resistant tupperware and pans 4 .
Gives the blue color to decorative glass and is a gasoline component 4 .
More than balloons: cooling liquid in MRIs and deep diving .
| Element | Risk | Safe Use |
|---|---|---|
| Mercury (Hg) | Neurotoxicity | Digital thermometers |
| Lead (Pb) | Neurological damage | Sealed car batteries |
| Beryllium (Be) | Berylliosis (lung) | Aerospace alloys |
Link everyday objects with elements from the periodic table.
Adapted from Valero Molina 1 :
The activity shows that chemical abstraction materializes in tangible objects. By handling items, students internalize that Fe isn't just "iron" but the component of their pan or vitamin supplement.
| Material | Function | Practical Example |
|---|---|---|
| Neodymium Magnets | Detect magnetic metals | Separate iron (Fe) in cereals |
| Litmus Paper | Measure pH (H⁺) | Test vinegar (acetic acid/CH₃COOH) |
| Digital Thermometer | Monitor melting points | Observe tin (Sn) melting (232°C) |
| 10x Magnifying Glass | Identify mineral crystals | Analyze salt (NaCl) or sugar (C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁) |
The periodic table is the alphabet of the physical universe: from the nitrogen preserving your salads to the vanadium in sea cucumbers 4 . Understanding its everyday connections makes us critical readers of reality, able to appreciate that the mercury in a thermometer is the same that poisons fish, or that the lithium in your phone was born in extinct stars.
Only 29 elements are considered essential for life... out of 94 natural elements on Earth! 1