Question

Which of the following metals is associated with hemoglobin?
(a) Aluminum
(b) Iron
(c) Potassium
(d) Calcium

Answer 1

Hint: A chemical element and a metal that makes most of the earth’s crust and in plants and animals to give strength.

Complete answer:Hemoglobin is the iron-containing molecule that is present in the red blood cells. It helps in carrying oxygen and is metalloprotein found in all vertebrates. It carries oxygen from the lungs or gills to the rest of the body via the blood.

Additional information:The proteins in mammals constitute around 96% of the red blood cells by weight and around 35% of the total content which includes water.
1. The hemoglobin releases oxygen to perform aerobic respiration and other cell metabolism processes.
2. The oxygen binding capacity of hemoglobin is around 1.34 mL per oxygen per gram.
3. A normal healthy individual in his every 100 ml of blood contains 12 to 20 grams of hemoglobin.
4. The hemoglobin molecule in mammals can bind to around four oxygen molecules at a time. It also carries other gases like carbon dioxide in the form of carbaminohemoglobin in which the carbon dioxide is attached to the heme protein.
5. Another type of hemoglobin called leghaemoglobin is present in the nitrogen-fixing root nodules of leguminous plants.
6. The low count in hemoglobin will lead to a condition called anemia.
7. The word hemoglobin is derived from two words heme and globin.
8. Each heme group consists of one iron atom.

So, the correct answer is ‘Iron’.

Note:The word ‘Haemoglobin’ comes from British English while ‘Hemoglobin’ comes from American English. The term is derived from the Greek word haima meaning ‘blood’, and another from the Latin word globus meaning ‘Ball’s, ‘sphere’. The iron ratio to protein in hemoglobin was discovered in 1825 by J. F. Engelhart.