CHAPTER 9 – LIFE PROCESSES IN ANIMALS

FULL DETAILED NOTES (LONG, TEXTBOOK-STYLE)

(Figures, Activities, Tables, page 135–136 ignored)

INTRODUCTION: What Are Life Processes?

All living organisms, whether animals or humans, need certain essential functions to stay alive. These
functions include nutrition, respiration, circulation, excretion and reproduction. Together, these are
known as life processes.

In this chapter, we focus on two major life processes in animals:

1. Nutrition (digestion)

2. Respiration (breathing and energy release)

9.1 NUTRITION IN ANIMALS

Animals cannot make their own food. They must eat and obtain nutrients from external sources.
Food contains carbohydrates, proteins, and fats which are complex substances. Before the body can
use them, they must be broken down into simpler forms.

This breakdown of complex food into simple forms is called digestion.

Digestion happens inside a long tube called the alimentary canal, which begins at the mouth and
ends at the anus.

THE HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The major parts of the human alimentary canal are:

Mouth → Oesophagus → Stomach → Small Intestine → Large Intestine → Rectum → Anus

Two important associated organs help in digestion:

Liver → produces bile

Let us study each part in detail.

1. Mouth — Beginning of Digestion

Digestion starts in the mouth.

Mechanical digestion (chewing)

Teeth break food into smaller pieces by crushing, grinding, and chewing.
This is called mechanical digestion.
Chemical digestion (saliva)

The salivary glands release saliva, which has two main functions:

1. Moistens and softens food to make swallowing easier

2. Contains an enzyme that breaks starch into sugar

This is why a well-chewed piece of chapati or rice begins to taste sweet after some time — saliva
converts starch to sugar.

2. Oesophagus (Food Pipe)

After chewing, food enters the oesophagus, a muscular tube.

The walls of the oesophagus contract and relax in a wave-like motion called peristalsis.
This movement pushes the food downward into the stomach.

Peristalsis happens throughout the entire alimentary canal.

3. Stomach

The stomach is a thick, muscular, J-shaped organ where food stays for several hours.

The stomach performs three major functions:

(a) Churning

The muscular walls churn and mix the food, breaking it further into smaller particles.

(b) Secretion of digestive substances

The inner lining of the stomach secretes:

1. Digestive juice → breaks down proteins

2. Hydrochloric acid (HCl) → kills harmful bacteria and helps digestion

3. Mucus → protects the stomach walls from the acid

The food becomes a semi-liquid mixture after being churned and mixed.

4. Small Intestine — Most Important Part of Digestion

The small intestine is the longest portion of the alimentary canal (about 6 metres).

Almost all food digestion and absorption happens here.

The small intestine receives three types of digestive juices:

(1) Bile (from the Liver)

• Mildly basic in nature

• Breaks large fat molecules into tiny droplets (emulsification)

(2) Pancreatic Juice (from the Pancreas)

Breaks down:

• Carbohydrates

• Proteins

• Fats

(3) Intestinal Juice

Completes the digestion of:

• Fats

• Proteins

• Carbohydrates

By the time food leaves the small intestine, all nutrients are in simple, absorbable forms.

Absorption of Nutrients

The inner walls of the small intestine contain thousands of finger-like projections called villi.

Villi increase the surface area for absorption.

Each villus contains:

• thin walls

• blood vessels

Nutrients pass through the villi into the blood.

• energy

• growth

• repair

• maintaining body functions

5. Large Intestine

After nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine, the remaining undigested food enters the large
intestine.

The large intestine:

1. Absorbs water and some salts

3. Stores the stool in the rectum

4. Expels it through the anus (egestion)

This completes the process of digestion.

6. DIGESTION IN OTHER ANIMALS

Animals have different digestive systems depending on what they eat.

(A) Ruminants (Cows, Buffalos, Goats)

Grass-eating animals swallow their food without chewing it completely.

• The food is partially digested in the stomach.

• Later, this partially digested food returns to the mouth.

• The animal chews it slowly and thoroughly.

This process is called rumination, and such animals are called ruminants.

They chew food for many hours every day.

(B) Birds

Birds have no teeth.

They have a special organ called the gizzard, which helps break food by:

• strong muscular walls

• small stones (grit) swallowed by the bird

This allows birds to grind and crush their food.

9.2 RESPIRATION IN ANIMALS

All living beings respire to obtain oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

But respiration is not the same as breathing.

1. What is Breathing?

Breathing = Inhaling air + Exhaling air

We inhale oxygen-rich air and exhale carbon dioxide-rich air.

Breathing is a physical process.

The path of air in the human respiratory system:

Nostrils → Nasal passage → Windpipe (trachea) → Lungs → Bronchi → Bronchioles → Alveoli

Nostrils

• Allow air to enter

• Have fine hair and mucus to trap dust and germs

Windpipe

• Carries air to lungs

• Divides into two bronchi, each entering a lung

Alveoli

• Tiny balloon-like air sacs

• Surrounded by blood vessels

• Main site of gas exchange

3. Mechanism of Breathing

Inhalation

• Ribs move upward and outward

• Diaphragm moves downward

• Chest cavity expands

• Air enters the lungs

Exhalation

• Ribs move downward and inward

• Diaphragm moves upward

• Chest cavity becomes smaller

• Air is pushed out

4. Exchange of Gases

Inside the alveoli:

• Oxygen passes from alveoli → blood

• Carbon dioxide passes from blood → alveoli → exhaled out

Respiration is a chemical process in which:

• Glucose (from food)

o Oxygen (from breathing)

combine to release energy, carbon dioxide and water.

The word equation:

Glucose + Oxygen → Carbon dioxide + Water + Energy

Breathing brings in oxygen,

6. Breathing in Other Animals

Different animals use different organs for breathing:

• Mammals, birds, reptiles → Lungs

• Fish → Gills

• Tadpoles → Gills

• Adult frogs → Lungs + moist skin

• Earthworms → Skin

Different breathing organs help animals survive in different environments.

1. Riya eats her lunch very quickly without chewing properly. Later she feels stomach
discomfort and heaviness.
Explain why this happens using your understanding of digestion.
2. A person accidentally blocks their nose while running. After some time, they start breathing
faster through the mouth.
Explain why breathing through the nose is more effective than mouth-breathing.
3. A boy has low levels of nutrients in his blood even though he eats enough food every day.
Explain how a problem in the small intestine can cause this condition.

4. After vigorous exercise, Ananya’s breathing rate increases sharply compared to when
she is resting.
Using the process of respiration, explain why this change happens.
5. A farmer notices that his cows keep bringing back previously swallowed grass into their
mouth to chew again.
Explain how this behaviour helps cows digest their food more efficiently.