Which statement is true about minerals?

• A. Minerals provide calories
• B. Minerals can't be destroyed, altered, or reduced to smaller substances
• C. Minerals are not essential to health
• D. Minerals are energy sources

Answer: (B)

Minerals are inorganic elements that the body must have in small amounts to support many functions, such as building bones, carrying oxygen, and maintaining fluid balance. They do not provide calories and are not sources of energy. Because minerals are elements, they cannot be broken down into smaller substances by ordinary chemical reactions, and they aren’t created or destroyed within the body in normal physiology. They may change form or be bound in different compounds, but the elemental identity remains. That’s why this statement is true: minerals cannot be destroyed, and they cannot be reduced to smaller substances under normal conditions.