Electrolytes Research Paper

Improved Essays
An electrolyte is an ionised component of a living cell, blood or any other matter and can conduct electricity when molten or dissolved. There are many different electrolytes found in our body such as sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium and so forth.
Electrolytes have many functions throughout the body for instance controlling the water balance in the body. Also assisting transmitting nerve impulses and helping your muscles relax and contract.
For example Sodium chloride which is also know by the formula NaCl, is a compound which is formed from the process of ionic bonding with Sodium and Chloride. However sodium chloride is a vital electrolyte commonly present in plasma, blood and lymph fluid. The functions of this electrolyte include maintaining the complete amount of water in the body and maintains the nerve and muscle function and regulates the blood capacity.
Electrolytes are gained by our diet as some of the foods we eat hold the minerals that when dissolved in the fluids within our body electrolytes are formed. However electrolytes are lost through urine, sweat, vomit and feces.
To maintain balance within the body, there are mechanisms put in place. The kidney functions to control water and electrolytes concentrations. If the body intakes too much water, the kidneys begins to process urine so that the balance is maintained.

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    In America magnesium chloride is produced from Great Salt Lake. Magnesium chloride is therapeutic to the human body. Magnesium can be found in various organic and inorganic forms in nature. Each of these forms has their degree of efficiency towards the human body. Many researchers state that Magnesium chloride is the best form of dietary supplementation.…

    • 275 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The attraction that holds the oppositely charged ions together in the ionic compound is called an ionic bond. Ionic compounds are hard, brittle solids with high melting points. Most ionic compounds are also electrolytes, which are compounds that separate into ions when they dissolve in water, producing solutions that conduct electricity. In addition, most ionic compounds form three-dimensional crystals, in which many of each kind of ion in a fixed ration are held together by their ionic bonds. Sodium hydroxide is an ionic compound, which sodium is the metal cation (Na+), and hydroxide is the non-metal anion (OH-), more specifically, sodium Hydroxide’s hydroxide is a polyatomic ion, an ion made up of more than one atom that acts as a single particle.…

    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Experiment Background: The urinary system is one of the biggest and the most important system in human body which contains two kidneys, two ureters, urinary bladder, and one urethra. This system is in charge of two basic functions. One is to remove nitrogenous wastes from the body, and the other one is to maintain the ion, pH, and water levels in the blood.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hydration Research Paper

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hiking Hydration Packs Keeping yourself hydrated is a must while hiking, but toting around disposable water bottles in your backpack and trying to drink from them while walking can be a real juggling act. That’s why more and more hikers are strapping on hydration packs before trekking the backcountry. A top-quality hydration pack make carrying up to 3 liters of water on your surprisingly easy, and you can take sips from the shoulder-high tubing system as often as like without breaking your stride. How do you fill up a CamelBak?…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hydrate Research Paper

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Pages

    By adding H2S to the N2/CO2 mixture, the new hydrate will become more stable. H2S will occupy both small and large cavities in structure I hydrates. A special feature of H2S compared to non-polar hydrate formers is the impact of the dipole moment. The rotation of H2S inside a cavity exposes an average positive charge outwards, while the average charge of the cavity walls is negative due to the negative water oxygen located on centre of water molecules in the water lattice, and the distribution of the positive hydrogens (Kvamme & Førrisdahl9 ). Even small amounts of H2S added to a fluid mixture of components with various ability to form hydrate, like for instance mixtures of CO2 and N2, can potentially shift the chemical potential of hydrate…

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Acid Rain Research Paper

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Acid, below-normal pH, causes many problems in our world today—from drinks to teeth, from pollution of industry to natural disasters. Acid is a chemical substance that can subdue alkalis, can dissolve specific metals and can turn them into salt, such as calcium, turns red on blue litmus paper, is corrosive or sour-tasting when it comes to liquid, generates pain in wounds, and turns colorless when placed in phenolphthalein which is used as a basic to acid indicator ("Definition of acid in English:"). Alkalis is any kind of substance that can produce OH ions, hydroxide ions, in water, which can also be known as 'basic', or 'basicity' ("GCSE CHEMISTRY - What is an Alkali? - What is a Base? - GCSE SCIENCE."). Litmus is a weakly acidic, organic…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gatorade Research Paper

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Well it can do more than help your thirst. In Gatorade there is a liquid or gel-like substance called electrolytes. It helps you stay energize. On the bottle says advanced electrolytes system, so I wanted to see if it was true or not. Gatorade helps give an electric charge to your blood to help you stay energized.…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The kidney’s function is to help the body get rid of excessive waste water with the help of regular blood flow. When this doesn’t happen, like with CHF, water inside your body can no longer regulate…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The urinary system is also known as the renal system. It removes urine which comprises of wastes and excess fluid. The urinary system is made up of some structures that work together in other to produce and excrete urine. These structures include 2 kidneys, 2 ureters, 1 bladder and urethra. The urinary system takes great part in maintaining homeostasis of fluid and electrolyte concentration in the body.…

    • 1572 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Identifying Acid Values

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The identity of different unknown solutions can be determined by measuring their respective pH values. Those solutions who possess pH values less than that of 7 is considered as acids, those with pH values greater than 7 are known to be bases, while those having pH equal to 7 is identified as neutral substances (Petrucci, 2011). Identifying its electrolytic property also helps to characterize the given solutions. Strong electrolytes, such as strong acids and bases and salts are known to fully dissociate its ions in the solution, making it a good conductor of electricity. On the other hand, the presence of weak electrolytes, such as weak acids and bases, do not dissociate its ions completely, making the solutions less conductive (Chang, 2010).…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Robert M. Sapolsky’s book titled “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers” he describes how the human body maintains balance through a process he calls homeostasis. Homeostasis helps the body normalize itself using different regulatory methods so it functions in a stable, healthy state. During a water crisis or shortage, the body will adjust itself. “Or suppose there is a water shortage. Homeostatic solution: kidneys are the ones that figure this out, tighten things up there, produce less urine for water conservation.”…

    • 1617 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Potassium Research Paper

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Potassium is everywhere. It races through the bloodstream, drifts in the air, swims through the water, and rises up roots of plants. Furthermore, it is vital for life to exist on earth, from the grass lions, bears, and humans trample on every day, to the fish and plankton in the ocean. Without potassium, the ninetieth element on the periodic table with chemical symbol “K,” life would be immensely different today, notwithstanding any in the first place. Potassium functions a significant role in lives, more specifically, its ions and compounds.…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ionic Reaction Lab Report

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The purpose of this experiment is to observe the difference between ionic and molecular compounds using conductivity as a means of analysis. This lab will allow us to organize compounds based on the magnitude of their conductivity. This will allow us to determine whether or not a compound is molecular or ionic based on its conductivity. This lab also will determine the effect of concentration on conductivity of certain electrolytes, as well as the number of ions. We also will examine the effect of polyatomic versus monoatomic ions on the conductivity of a solution.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Urinary System Essay

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When they are functioning normally, the kidneys eliminate toxins, metabolic wastes, and excess ions, while they retain substances useful to the body. The urinary system rids the body of these wastes. The urinary system is also involved in maintaining proper blood volume, blood pressure and ion absorption within the blood. The kidneys produce erythropoietin, a hormone that stimulates red blood cell production. The kidneys also maintain the correct water content of the body and the correct salt composition of extracellular fluid.…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Speech On Coconut Water

    • 2172 Words
    • 9 Pages

    In most tropical countries with long coastlines where coconut palms grow in abundance, coconut water has always been used as a refreshing drink and a health enhancer. The people of the Pacific Islands respect the coconut and use all of its parts for food and medicine. It is only recently that this humble natural beverage has started receiving the attention it clearly deserves in North America. If you are not familiar with this drink, coconut water is the nearly colorless liquid contained within a coconut. Although it used to be referred to as the milk of coconut, or coconut milk, earlier, it is not to be confused with the white milky liquid extracted from coconut meat.…

    • 2172 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays