Life Processes in Organisms Explained
Life Processes in Organisms Explained
LIFE PROCESSES
All living things perform certain life processes like growth, excretion, respiration,
circulation etc.
All the processes like respiration, digestion, which together keep the living organisms
alive and perform the job of body maintenance are called life processes.
Examples :
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Autotrophic Nutrition :
The organisms which carry out autotrophic nutrition are called autotrophs (green
plants)
Autotrophic nutrition is fulfilled by the process by which autotrophs take in CO2 and
H2O and convert these into carlohydrates in the presence of chlorophyll, sunlight is
called PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Equation :
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How do organisms obtain their food
Unicellular / single celled organism : food is taken up through entire surface.
Example : (i) Amoeba. (ii) Paramaecium
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NUTRITION IN HUMAN BEINGS
The human digestive system comprises of alimentary canal and associated disgestive
glands.
Mouth → Intake of whole food
↓
Teeth → Chewing/grinding of food.
↓
Tongue → Rolling of food
↓ +
Tasting of food
+
Swallowing / pushing down of the food
Salivary Glands → Secrete Saliva + Mucus.
Salivary
↓ Starch amylase Sugar
[Saliva]
Oesophagus → Taking food from mouth to stomach by
↓ Peristaltic movements
[contraction and expansion of muscles of the oesophagus]
Stomach → Gastric glands secrete Gastric juice
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Small Intestinal →
Small Intestine → Villi helps in absorption of food into the blood.
[finger like projections]
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Respiration
Respiration involves
(i) Gaseous exchange : Intake of oxygen from the atmosphere and release of
CO2 Breathing
(ii) Breakdown of simple food in order to release energy inside the cell Cellular
Respiration
Breakdown of Glucose by various pathways
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Exchange of Gases between alveolus, blood and tissues.
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Life Process (II)
Transporation and Excretion
– Human beings like other multicellular organism need regular supply of food,
oxygen etc., This function is performed by circulatory system or Transport
system.
– The circulatory system in human beings consists of :
The circulatory system in human beings consists of :
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Blood
(A fluid Connective Tissue)
- Lymph - a yellowish fluids escapes from the blood capillaries into the
intercellular spaces contain less proteins than blood. Lymph flows from the
tissues to the heart assisting in transportation and destroying germs.
Blood Vessels
Arteries Veins
1. Carry Oxygenated blood from 1. Carry deoxygenated blood
heart to body part except from body parts to heart
pulmonary Artery except pulmonary vein.
2. Also called distributing Vessel 2. Also called collecting Vessel.
3. Thick and elastic 3. Thin and Less elastic.
Transportation in Plants
- There are two main conducting Pathways in a Plant
Xylem Phloem
1. Carries water & minerals 1. Carries product of
from the roots to other part photosynthesis from leaves
of the plant to the other part of the plant.
2. No energy is used. 2. Energy is used from ATP
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– Transpiration is the process of loss of water as vapour from aerial parts of the
plant.
Function :
1. Absorption and upward movement of water and minerals by creating
PULL.
2. helps in temperature regulation in Plant.
– Transport of food from leaves (food factory) to different part of the plant is
called Translocation.
EXCRETION
– The process of the removal of the harmful metabolic wastes from the body.
– Excretory system of human beings includes :
1) A pair of kidneys
ii) A Urinary Bladder
iii) A pair of Ureter
iv) A Urethera
– Urine produced in the kidneys passes through the ureters into the urinary
bladder where it is stored until it is released through the urethera.
– The purpose of making urine is to filter out waste product from the blood ie,
urea which is produced in the liver.
– Each kidney has large numbers of filtration units called nephrons.
– The Urine formation involves three steps
1. Glomerular Filtration : Nitrogenous wastes, glucose water, amino acid
filter from the blood into Bowman Capsule of the nephron.
2. Tubular reabsorption : Now, useful substances from the filtrate are
reabsorbed back by capillaries surrounding the nephron.
3. Secretion Extra, water, salts are secreted into the tubule which open up
into the collecting duct & then into the ureter.
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– Haemodialysis : The process of purifying blood by an artificial kidney. it is
meant for Kidney failure patient.
Excretion in Plants
Through stomata
– Oxygen, CO2 & H2O (Transpiration)
– Other wastes may be stored in leaves, bark etc. which fall off from the plant.
– Plants excrete some waste into the soil around them.
– Gums, Resin In old Xylem
– Some metabolic wastes in the form of crystals of Calcium oxalates in the
leaves of colocasia and stem of Zamikand.
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Life Processes
IN CHAPTER QUESTIONS
PART - 1
Q4. What processes would you consider essential for maintaining life ?
Ans. Life processes nutrition, metabolism, respiration, exchange of materials, transportation,
excretion and awareness.
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Life Processes
PART - 2
Q1. What are the difference between autotrophic nutrition and heterotrophic nutrition ?
Ans. Autotrophic nutrition : The process through which organisms are able to build up their own
organic food from raw materials which are obtained from outside, in the form of carbon
dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll and sunlight. The organisms having
autotrophic mode of nutrition or can make their own food are called autotrophs or autotrophic
organisms.
e.g. Green plants and some bacteria.
Heterotrophic nutrition : Mode of nutrition in which the organisms derive their nutrition by
taking readymade food from other dead or living plants and animals. The survival of
heterotrophs depends directly or indirectly on autotrophs.
e.g. Animals, fungi and most of bacteria.
Q2. Where does the plants get each of the raw materials for photosynthesis ?
Ans. (i) Carbon Dioxide - Air through stomata.
(ii) Water - Soil through roots.
(iii) Minerals - Soil through roots.
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PART - 3
Q1. What advantage over an aquatic organism does a terrestrial organism have with regard
toobtaining oxygen for respiration?
Ans. Air contains about 21% of oxygen while water has less than 1% oxygen in dissolved state.
A terrestrial organism is able to get several times more oxygen than an aquatic organism.
Q2. What are the different ways in which glucose is oxidised to provide energy in
various organisms?
Ans. The different ways in which glucose is oxidized to provide energy in various organisms
1. Aerobic respiration
Glucose Pyruvate or Pyruvic acid + Energy [2 ATP]
(1 molecules) (2 molecules)
[Link] respiration
Fermentation [Alcohol fermentation] :
+ +
Q4. How are the lungs designed in human beings to maximize the area for exchange of
gases ?
Ans. Each lung has a highly branched respiratory tract called respiratory tree. A primary bronchus
divides into secondary bronchi, secondary into segmental bronchi, segmental bronchus into
bronchioles which divide into terminal bronchioles, respiratory bronchioles, alveolar sacs and
alveoli. Alveoli are small rounded pouches which are extremely thin walled and possess a
network of capillaries over their surface. They function as respiratory surfaces. The total area
of all the alveoli is more than 80 m2. It is several times more than the surface area of the
whole human body.
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Life Processes
PART - 4
Q1. What are the components of the transport system in human beings ? What are the
functionsof these components ?
Ans. Human transport system has two components, blood vascular system and lymphatic system.
Blood Vascular System. It consists of blood, blood vessels (tube) and heart.
(2) Blood- It is made up of plasma and three types of cells – red blood corpuscles, white
blood corpuscles and blood platelets.
(i) Arteries. Taking away blood from heart to different body parts.
(ii) Veins. Transporting blood towards heart from various body parts.
(iii) Capillaries. Exchange of materials between blood and living cells through tissue fluid.
Lymph. (i) Collection of extra tissue fluid and passing it back into blood.
Lymph Vessels. Collection of lymph and passing the same into veins.
Lymph Nodes. (i) Lymph organs specialized to filter germs. (ii) Maturation of lymphocytes.
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Life Processes
and birds ?
Ans. Mammals and birds are warm blooded animals. They constantly use energy to maintain
their body temperature. They have a higher energy needs and require more oxygenated
blood for their cells. It is important that their oxygenated blood does not mix up with
deoxygenated blood.
Q3. What are the components of the transport system in highly organised plants ?
Ans. Transport system of highly organised plants consists of xylem and phloem.
(i) Xylem. It is used in transport of water and minerals. Xylem is made of tracheids,
vessels, xylem fibers and xylem parenchyma. Tracheids and vessels constitute the
tracheary elements or channels for transport of water and minerals.
(ii) Phloem. It is used for transport or translocation of organic solutes or food. Phloem
consists of sieve tubes, companion cells, phloem fibers and phloem parenchyma. Sieve
tubes constitute the channels for the transport of food materials.
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Life Processes
PART - 5
Nephron
The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney. A nephron consists of a twisted tubule closed
at one end, open at the other with a network of associated blood vessels. Each kidney of man
is formed of about one million nephrons.
Each nephron has a length of about 3 cm. It is differentiated into 4 regions having different
anatomical features and different physiological roles.
Nephron : The 4 regions are :
(a) Bowman's capsule
(b) Proximal convoluted tubule (PCT)
(c) Loop of Henle
(d) Distal convoluted tubule (DCT)
(b) PCT
It starts from the back of the Bowman's capsule and it is highly convoluted. It lies in the
renal cortex. The wall consists of a single layer of cuboidal cells bearing a lot of microvilli
on the surface.
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Life Processes
(d) DCT
It is greatly twisted like the PCT and lies in the renal cortex. The terminal relatively short
part of the DCT is called the collecting tubule. It opens into the collecting [Link]
collecting ducts receive the collecting tubules of several nephrons.
Q2. What are the methods used by plants to get rid of excretory products ?
Ans. The method used by plants to get rid of excretory products are
(i) The oxygen which is produced during the process of photo-synthesis gets removed through
stomata.
(ii) The carbon dioxide which is produced during the process of respiration also gets removed
through stomata.
(iii) The excess of water gets removed through transpiration.
(iv) Some other wastes get removed along with dead cells when plant lose some parts such as
leaves.
(v) Some waste products are stored in cellular vacuoles.
(vi) Some waste products are stored as resins and gums, especially in old xylem.
(vii) Plants also excrete some waste substances into the soil around them.
(viii) Some waste substances are also eliminated through petals, fruits and seeds.
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EXERCISES
Q1. The kidneys in human beings are a part of the system for
(A) nutrition.
(B) respiration.
(C) excretion.
(D) transportation.
Ans. (C) Excretion.
Q4. The breakdown of pyruvate to give carbon dioxide, water and energy takes place in
(A) cytoplasm.
(B) mitochondria.
(C) chloroplast.
(D) nucleus.
Ans. (B) mitochondria.
Q5. How are fats digested in our bodies? Where does this process take place?
Ans. The small intestine is the site of the complete digestion of carbohydrates,proteins
and [Link] are present in the intestine in the form of large globules which makes it
difficult for enzymes to act on them. Bile salts from Liver break them down into smaller
globules increasing the efficiency of enzyme action. The pancreas secretes pancreatic
juice which contains enzymes lipase for breaking down emulsified fats. The walls of the
small intestine contain glands which secrete intestinal juice. The enzymes present in it
finally convert the fats into fatty acids and glycerol.
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Life Processes
Q7. What are the necessary conditions for autotrophic nutrition and what are its by-products?
Ans. Requirements for photosynthesis
The sugar produced in photosynthesis is stored in the form of starch in plants and it is the
source of reserved internal energy.
6CO2 + 12 H2O ------------------- C6H12O6 + 6H2O + 6O2
(from air) (from soil) (Glucose)
Q9. How are the alveoli designed to maximize the exchange of gases?
Ans. Alveoli are small pouches or sacs. Large numbers of alveoli occur inside each lung. The
whole surface of an alveolus functions as respiratory surface. Due to large number of
alveoli in each lung, a very large area of respiratory surface become available (about 80 m2)
for exchange of gases. The walls of alveoli are very thin and they are surrounded by blood
capillaries.
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Q10. What would be the consequences of a deficiency of hemoglobin in our bodies?
Ans. Hemoglobin is the respiratory pigment that transports oxygen to the body cells for
cellular respiration. Deficiency of hemoglobin in blood lead to deficiency of oxygen in
the body cells which can lead to a disease called anemia.
Q12. What are the differences between the transport of materials in xylem and phloem?
Ans. Transport by xylem Transport by phloem
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Q13. Compare the functioning of alveoli in the lungs and nephrons in the kidneys with
respect totheir structure and functioning.
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AUTOTROPHIC NUTRITION -
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Process of Photosynthesis
Mouth-
• The mouth is the beginning of the digestive tract. In fact, digestion starts
here as soon as you take the first bite of a meal. Chewing breaks the food
into pieces that are more easily digested, while saliva mixes with food to
begin the process of breaking it down into a form your body can absorb
and use.
Oesophagus-The oesophagus is a muscular tube extending from the pharynx to the
stomach. By means of a series of contractions, called peristalsis, the oesophagus delivers food
to the stomach. Just before the connection to the stomach there is a "zone of high pressure,"
called the lower oesophageal sphincter; this is a "valve" meant to keep food from passing
backwards into the oesophagus.
Stomach-The stomach is a sac-like organ with strong muscular walls. In addition to holding
the food, it's also a mixer and grinder. The stomach secretes acid and powerful enzymes that
continue the process of breaking down the food. When it leaves the stomach, food is the
consistency of a liquid or paste. From there the food moves to the small intestine.
Small intestine-Made up of three segments, the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, the small
intestine is a long tube loosely coiled in the abdomen (spread out, it would be more than 20
feet long). The small intestine continues the process of breaking down food by using enzymes
released by the pancreas and bile from the liver.
Large intestine-The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the
gastrointestinal tract and of the digestive system in vertebrates. Water is absorbed here.
Rectum- It is the last part of large intestine. The remaining waste material is stored here as
faeces before being removed by defecation.
Anus-The anus is the last part of the digestive tract. It consists of the pelvic floor muscles
and the two anal sphincters (internal and external muscles). The lining of the upper anus is
specialized to detect rectal contents. It lets us know whether the contents are liquid, gas, or
solid. The pelvic floor muscle creates an angle between the rectum and the anus that stops
stool from coming out when it is not supposed to. The anal sphincters provide fine control
of stool. The internal sphincter keeps us from going to the bathroom when we are asleep, or
otherwise unaware of the presence of stool.
RESPIRATION
The process of respiration is done in
2 steps in humans- Breathing and
cellular respiration.
• The Urine forming in each kidney eventually enters a long tube ,the
ureter, which connects the kidneys with the urinary bladder .Urine is
stored in the urinary bladder until the pressure of the expanded bladder
leads to the urge to pass it out through the urethra.
Structure of a Nephron
EXCRETION IN PLANTS
• Plants get rid of excess water by transpiration .Many plant waste
products are stored in cellular vacuoles .
• Plants also excrete some waste substances into the soil around them.