Page 5 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

 Iron is the colouring in the red haemoglobin molecules of blood cells. Its main function is to carry oxygen around the body.
In fact iron has only been widely available since the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. At this time, inventors like Abraham Darby learned how to obtain large quantities of iron economically using coke. With iron at last cheap and plentiful, the people of the 19th century led the world into the engineering age.
Iron is not just found as a metal. Compounds of iron, for example, are found in almost all living things: iron compounds are a vital nutrient for all plants and animals, and they make our blood appear red in colour. Iron compounds are also the basis of a rich variety of natural colours, both in rocks and in nature.
Iron, along with very few other elements, possesses the property of magnetism. This property makes iron essential in compasses and inside every electric motor. Indeed, this makes iron one of the most versatile of all the elements.
Chromium
Chromium, whose chemical symbol is Cr, is named after the Greek word for colour. It is responsible for both the deep red colour of a ruby and the green of emeralds. Chromium is a shiny, rare metal, but because it resists corrosion, it is very important as a surface coating called “chromium plating”.
Manganese
Manganese, whose chemical symbol is Mn, is named for the Latin word for magnesia, a magnetic stone. It is a silver–grey metal. Manganese has been identified in great quantities on the deep ocean floor, as yet too deep for collection. Manganese is used for hardening steel and in batteries.
Foods high in iron content include meat (especially liver and heart), egg yolk, wheat germ, and most green vegetables.
Some people, such as pregnant women and elderly people, suffer iron deficiency. They have to take extra iron in the form of tablets (like those shown here).
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