HUN201 Vitamins, Minerals & Water 2026/2027 | Jersey
College Nutrition HUN 201 Exam Study Guide & Practice
Questions | Vitamins, Minerals & Water Comprehensive
Review, Micronutrients, Fat-Soluble & Water-Soluble
Vitamins, Major & Trace Minerals, Electrolytes, Hydration,
Nutrient Functions, Deficiencies & Toxicity, Dietary Reference
Intakes, Absorption, Metabolism, Food Sources, Nutrition
Assessment, Clinical Nutrition & Detailed Rationales
Question 1: Which vitamin is chemically classified as a fat-soluble
vitamin and functions primarily as an antioxidant in cell
membranes?
A. Vitamin C
B. Vitamin B12
C. Vitamin E
D. Vitamin B6
CORRECT ANSWER: C. Vitamin E
Rationale: Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that functions as a major
antioxidant in cell membranes, protecting polyunsaturated fatty acids from
oxidative damage. Vitamin C is water-soluble, while B12 and B6 are water-
soluble B-complex vitamins.
Question 2: Which mineral is the most abundant cation in
extracellular fluid and is critical for maintaining fluid balance and
nerve impulse transmission?
A. Potassium
B. Sodium
C. Calcium
D. Magnesium
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Sodium
Rationale: Sodium is the primary extracellular cation and plays a central
role in maintaining osmotic pressure, fluid balance, and action potentials in
nerves and muscles. Potassium is the main intracellular cation.
Question 3: What percentage of an adult human body is
approximately composed of water?
A. 20–30%
B. 40–50%
,C. 50–60%
D. 70–80%
CORRECT ANSWER: C. 50–60%
Rationale: Total body water in healthy adults is approximately 50–60% of
body weight, varying with age, sex, and body composition. Infants have a
higher percentage, while obese individuals have a lower percentage.
Question 4: Which vitamin deficiency is classically associated with
night blindness and xerophthalmia?
A. Vitamin D
B. Vitamin A
C. Vitamin K
D. Vitamin E
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Vitamin A
Rationale: Vitamin A is essential for the synthesis of rhodopsin, a visual
pigment in the retina. Deficiency leads to night blindness and, if prolonged,
xerophthalmia and keratomalacia.
Question 5: Which mineral is a central component of the thyroid
hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3)?
A. Iron
B. Iodine
C. Zinc
D. Selenium
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Iodine
Rationale: Iodine is required for the synthesis of T3 and T4 in the thyroid
gland. Deficiency causes goiter and, in pregnancy, cretinism. Selenium
assists in converting T4 to T3 but is not a structural component.
Question 6: Which water-soluble vitamin functions as a coenzyme
in carboxylation reactions and is found in raw egg white-binding
protein avidin?
A. Vitamin B1
B. Vitamin B2
C. Biotin
D. Vitamin B6
,CORRECT ANSWER: C. Biotin
Rationale: Biotin is a coenzyme for carboxylase enzymes. Avidin, a protein
in raw egg whites, binds biotin and prevents its absorption, potentially
causing deficiency with excessive raw egg consumption.
Question 7: Which electrolyte is the principal intracellular cation
and is essential for maintaining resting membrane potential?
A. Sodium
B. Calcium
C. Potassium
D. Chloride
CORRECT ANSWER: C. Potassium
Rationale: Potassium is the major intracellular cation and is critical for
maintaining the resting membrane potential of cells, nerve conduction, and
muscle contraction. Sodium is the primary extracellular cation.
Question 8: Which vitamin deficiency causes scurvy, characterized
by bleeding gums and poor wound healing?
A. Vitamin A
B. Vitamin C
C. Vitamin D
D. Vitamin K
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Vitamin C
Rationale: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is required for collagen synthesis via
hydroxylation of proline and lysine. Deficiency leads to scurvy, with
bleeding gums, petechiae, and impaired wound healing.
Question 9: Which mineral is most critical for oxygen transport in
hemoglobin and myoglobin?
A. Copper
B. Zinc
C. Iron
D. Manganese
CORRECT ANSWER: C. Iron
, Rationale: Iron is a component of the heme group in hemoglobin and
myoglobin, enabling oxygen binding and transport. Copper aids iron
metabolism but is not part of the heme structure.
Question 10: What is the primary function of vitamin K in the
body?
A. Antioxidant protection
B. Blood coagulation
C. Energy metabolism
D. DNA synthesis
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Blood coagulation
Rationale: Vitamin K is a cofactor for gamma-glutamyl carboxylase, which
activates clotting factors II, VII, IX, and X. It also plays a role in bone
metabolism but its primary function is coagulation.
Question 11: Which condition results from a deficiency of vitamin
D in children, causing bowed legs and delayed growth?
A. Osteomalacia
B. Rickets
C. Osteoporosis
D. Scurvy
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Rickets
Rationale: Vitamin D deficiency in children impairs calcium and phosphate
deposition in bones, leading to rickets, characterized by bowed legs,
delayed fontanel closure, and growth retardation. Osteomalacia is the adult
equivalent.
Question 12: Which mineral is a component of the enzyme
glutathione peroxidase and acts as an antioxidant?
A. Selenium
B. Zinc
C. Copper
D. Molybdenum
CORRECT ANSWER: A. Selenium
College Nutrition HUN 201 Exam Study Guide & Practice
Questions | Vitamins, Minerals & Water Comprehensive
Review, Micronutrients, Fat-Soluble & Water-Soluble
Vitamins, Major & Trace Minerals, Electrolytes, Hydration,
Nutrient Functions, Deficiencies & Toxicity, Dietary Reference
Intakes, Absorption, Metabolism, Food Sources, Nutrition
Assessment, Clinical Nutrition & Detailed Rationales
Question 1: Which vitamin is chemically classified as a fat-soluble
vitamin and functions primarily as an antioxidant in cell
membranes?
A. Vitamin C
B. Vitamin B12
C. Vitamin E
D. Vitamin B6
CORRECT ANSWER: C. Vitamin E
Rationale: Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that functions as a major
antioxidant in cell membranes, protecting polyunsaturated fatty acids from
oxidative damage. Vitamin C is water-soluble, while B12 and B6 are water-
soluble B-complex vitamins.
Question 2: Which mineral is the most abundant cation in
extracellular fluid and is critical for maintaining fluid balance and
nerve impulse transmission?
A. Potassium
B. Sodium
C. Calcium
D. Magnesium
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Sodium
Rationale: Sodium is the primary extracellular cation and plays a central
role in maintaining osmotic pressure, fluid balance, and action potentials in
nerves and muscles. Potassium is the main intracellular cation.
Question 3: What percentage of an adult human body is
approximately composed of water?
A. 20–30%
B. 40–50%
,C. 50–60%
D. 70–80%
CORRECT ANSWER: C. 50–60%
Rationale: Total body water in healthy adults is approximately 50–60% of
body weight, varying with age, sex, and body composition. Infants have a
higher percentage, while obese individuals have a lower percentage.
Question 4: Which vitamin deficiency is classically associated with
night blindness and xerophthalmia?
A. Vitamin D
B. Vitamin A
C. Vitamin K
D. Vitamin E
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Vitamin A
Rationale: Vitamin A is essential for the synthesis of rhodopsin, a visual
pigment in the retina. Deficiency leads to night blindness and, if prolonged,
xerophthalmia and keratomalacia.
Question 5: Which mineral is a central component of the thyroid
hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3)?
A. Iron
B. Iodine
C. Zinc
D. Selenium
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Iodine
Rationale: Iodine is required for the synthesis of T3 and T4 in the thyroid
gland. Deficiency causes goiter and, in pregnancy, cretinism. Selenium
assists in converting T4 to T3 but is not a structural component.
Question 6: Which water-soluble vitamin functions as a coenzyme
in carboxylation reactions and is found in raw egg white-binding
protein avidin?
A. Vitamin B1
B. Vitamin B2
C. Biotin
D. Vitamin B6
,CORRECT ANSWER: C. Biotin
Rationale: Biotin is a coenzyme for carboxylase enzymes. Avidin, a protein
in raw egg whites, binds biotin and prevents its absorption, potentially
causing deficiency with excessive raw egg consumption.
Question 7: Which electrolyte is the principal intracellular cation
and is essential for maintaining resting membrane potential?
A. Sodium
B. Calcium
C. Potassium
D. Chloride
CORRECT ANSWER: C. Potassium
Rationale: Potassium is the major intracellular cation and is critical for
maintaining the resting membrane potential of cells, nerve conduction, and
muscle contraction. Sodium is the primary extracellular cation.
Question 8: Which vitamin deficiency causes scurvy, characterized
by bleeding gums and poor wound healing?
A. Vitamin A
B. Vitamin C
C. Vitamin D
D. Vitamin K
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Vitamin C
Rationale: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is required for collagen synthesis via
hydroxylation of proline and lysine. Deficiency leads to scurvy, with
bleeding gums, petechiae, and impaired wound healing.
Question 9: Which mineral is most critical for oxygen transport in
hemoglobin and myoglobin?
A. Copper
B. Zinc
C. Iron
D. Manganese
CORRECT ANSWER: C. Iron
, Rationale: Iron is a component of the heme group in hemoglobin and
myoglobin, enabling oxygen binding and transport. Copper aids iron
metabolism but is not part of the heme structure.
Question 10: What is the primary function of vitamin K in the
body?
A. Antioxidant protection
B. Blood coagulation
C. Energy metabolism
D. DNA synthesis
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Blood coagulation
Rationale: Vitamin K is a cofactor for gamma-glutamyl carboxylase, which
activates clotting factors II, VII, IX, and X. It also plays a role in bone
metabolism but its primary function is coagulation.
Question 11: Which condition results from a deficiency of vitamin
D in children, causing bowed legs and delayed growth?
A. Osteomalacia
B. Rickets
C. Osteoporosis
D. Scurvy
CORRECT ANSWER: B. Rickets
Rationale: Vitamin D deficiency in children impairs calcium and phosphate
deposition in bones, leading to rickets, characterized by bowed legs,
delayed fontanel closure, and growth retardation. Osteomalacia is the adult
equivalent.
Question 12: Which mineral is a component of the enzyme
glutathione peroxidase and acts as an antioxidant?
A. Selenium
B. Zinc
C. Copper
D. Molybdenum
CORRECT ANSWER: A. Selenium
