Q 01/05

How many vitamins do major health organizations recognise as essential for humans?

A) 15

B) 17

C) 19

D) 13

Answer · why

D) 13

Four are fat-soluble (A, D, E, K) and nine dissolve in water: vitamin C plus the eight B vitamins.

Q 02/05

Which four vitamins are fat-soluble?

A) A, B, C and D

B) A, D, E and K

C) B, C, E and K

D) C, D, E and K

Answer · why

B) A, D, E and K

Because they can be stored in body fat and the liver, vitamins A and D can build up to dangerous levels, unlike the water-soluble ones that are quickl...

Q 03/05

Who coined the word 'vitamine' in 1912?

A) Frederick Hopkins

B) Christiaan Eijkman

C) James Lind

D) Casimir Funk

Answer · why

D) Casimir Funk

The Polish-born biochemist was working at London's Lister Institute; his friend Max Nierenstein suggested fusing 'vital' and 'amine'.

Q 04/05

Why was the final 'e' dropped from 'vitamine' in 1920?

A) To make the word easier to trademark

B) To match the French spelling

C) Because not all vitamins turned out to be amines

D) Because a rival journal already used it

Answer · why

C) Because not all vitamins turned out to be amines

Jack Cecil Drummond proposed the change once researchers suspected vitamin A, in particular, contained no amine group at all.

Q 05/05

Scurvy is caused by a deficiency of which nutrient?

A) Vitamin A

B) Vitamin B12

C) Vitamin C

D) Vitamin D

Answer · why

C) Vitamin C

Without it the body cannot form collagen properly, so wounds fail to heal and gums bleed.