There are many parts to every living thing. These basic parts have specialized jobs, which give shape and function of everything in the universe. The basic building block for all mass is the atom. There are many different parts to the atom. The electron is a negatively charged particle that revolves around the nucleus in electron shells. The electron is one of the smallest particles that make up the atom. The counterpart to the electron is the proton. This is a larger positive charged particle. These different atoms make up elements. An element is a collection of similar atoms. Examples of elements are oxygen, hydrogen and carbon. These elements can be used to build larger materials can molecules. A molecule is a collection of similar or different elements. Different prefixes and suffixes are used to describe the shape, composition, and number of particles. An example of this is trivalent chromium. This named is used to describe the number of lost electrons. Hexavalent chromium has a charge of plus six or it has lost six electrons. Chromium picolinate is the natural occurring form of chromium. It has not lost or gained a charge, or it is a neutral element. Chromium is a very special type of element. It can be very safe and helpful, but in some forms the element can be radioactive and cause health problems in living things. In the movie Erin Bockovich, two types of hexavalent chromium and chromium picolinate. Chromium picolinate is a helpful and necessary element. It is found in many dietary supplements due to its role in the absorption of glucose in the cells. In many cases of type II or adult on-set diabetes, a regular supplement of chromium can control the disease (Chromium Information Bureau, www.chromiuminfo.org) . This natural occurring mineral is proving to be a very important piece to the fight against diabetes.The second type of chromium occurs in very low levels naturally in the environment, but due to ...
