Chapter 5: Life Processes - Detailed Notes
5.1 What are Life Processes?
Maintenance processes essential for living organisms to prevent damage and breakdown.
Continue even when organism is not doing anything particular (e.g., sleeping).
Require energy obtained from outside the body through nutrition.
Key life processes: Nutrition, Respiration, Transportation, Excretion.
In multicellular organisms, specialized tissues and organs perform these functions.
5.2 Nutrition
Process of obtaining energy and materials for growth, development, and body maintenance.
5.2.1 Autotrophic Nutrition
Organisms make their own food using simple inorganic substances (CO₂, H₂O).
Examples: Green plants, some bacteria.
Process: Photosynthesis.
Equation: 6CO₂ + 12H₂O → Chlorophyll/Sunlight → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ + 6H₂O
Steps: Absorption of light by chlorophyll → Conversion to chemical energy → Splitting of
water → Reduction of CO₂ to carbohydrates.
Raw materials: CO₂ from air (through stomata), water and minerals from soil (through roots).
Chlorophyll essential for photosynthesis (proved by variegated leaf experiment).
Desert plants take CO₂ at night to prepare intermediate.
5.2.2 Heterotrophic Nutrition
Organisms depend on autotrophs for food (directly or indirectly).
Examples: Animals, fungi.
Types:
Saprophytic: Break down food outside body (e.g., fungi).
Holozoic: Take in whole material and break down inside body (e.g., animals).
Parasitic: Derive nutrition from host without killing (e.g., cuscuta, ticks).
5.2.3 How Organisms Obtain Nutrition
Single-celled organisms (e.g., Amoeba): Use pseudopodia to form food vacuole.
Paramecium: Use cilia to move food to specific spot.
5.2.4 Nutrition in Human Beings
Alimentary canal: Mouth → Oesophagus → Stomach → Small intestine → Large intestine →
Anus.
Digestion process:
Mouth: Saliva (salivary amylase) breaks starch into sugars.
Stomach: Gastric glands secrete HCl (acidic medium), pepsin (protein digestion), mucus
(protection).
Small intestine: Complete digestion.
Receives bile (liver) emulsifies fats, pancreatic juice (trypsin, lipase), intestinal
juice.
Villi increase surface area for absorption.
Large intestine: Absorbs water, undigested waste excreted through anus.
Dental caries: Caused by bacterial action on sugars producing acids that demineralize enamel.
5.3 Respiration
Process of breaking down food to release energy (ATP).
Breakdown of Glucose
First step: Glycolysis (cytoplasm) - Glucose → Pyruvate (3C) + Energy.
Further breakdown:
Condition Process Products Examples
In
Aerobic (with O₂) CO₂ + H₂O + Energy (more) Most organisms
mitochondria
Anaerobic (without Ethanol + CO₂ + Energy Yeast
In cytoplasm
O₂) (less) (fermentation)
Lack of O₂ in Human muscle
In cytoplasm Lactic acid + Energy (less)
muscles cells
ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate): Energy currency of cells.
Formed from ADP + Pi using energy from respiration.
Used for muscle contraction, protein synthesis, etc.
Gas Exchange
Plants: Exchange gases through stomata (day: O₂ out; night: CO₂ out).
Animals: Use specialized organs (gills, lungs, etc.).
Human respiratory system:
Nostrils → Pharynx → Larynx → Trachea → Bronchi → Bronchioles → Alveoli.
Alveoli: Site of gas exchange (large surface area ~80 m²).
Mechanism: Breathing in (ribs lift, diaphragm flattens) → air sucked in.
Haemoglobin: Respiratory pigment in RBCs, carries O₂.
Smoking damages cilia, causes lung diseases.
5.4 Transportation
5.4.1 Transportation in Human Beings
Circulatory system: Heart, blood, blood vessels.
Blood: Plasma (food, CO₂, wastes), RBCs (O₂), WBCs (immunity), platelets (clotting).
Heart:
4-chambered: Right atrium → Right ventricle → Lungs → Left atrium → Left ventricle →
Body.
Prevents mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.
Double circulation: Blood passes through heart twice per cycle.
Blood vessels:
Arteries: Thick-walled, carry blood away from heart.
Veins: Thin-walled with valves, carry blood to heart.
Capillaries: Thin walls for material exchange.
Lymph: Tissue fluid, drains excess fluid, carries digested fat.
Blood pressure: Systolic (120 mm Hg) and diastolic (80 mm Hg).
5.4.2 Transportation in Plants
Xylem: Water and minerals (roots to leaves).
Phloem: Food and substances (leaves to other parts - translocation).
Water transport:
Root pressure: Pushes water up.
Transpiration pull: Suction due to water loss from leaves.
Phloem transport requires energy (ATP).
5.5 Excretion
Removal of metabolic wastes.
5.5.1 Excretion in Human Beings
Excretory system: Kidneys → Ureters → Urinary bladder → Urethra.
Nephron: Functional unit of kidney.
Glomerulus: Filters blood.
Bowman’s capsule: Collects filtrate.
Tubule: Reabsorbs useful substances (glucose, water, etc.).
Urine: Contains nitrogenous wastes (urea, uric acid).
Artificial kidney: Hemodialysis removes wastes by diffusion.
5.5.2 Excretion in Plants
Methods: Oxygen release, transpiration, storage in vacuoles/leaves, shedding leaves, excreting
into soil.
Wastes stored as gums, resins in xylem.
30 Most Important Q&A from Chapter 5
1. Why is diffusion insufficient to meet oxygen requirements in multicellular organisms?
Because all cells are not in direct contact with the environment, and diffusion is slow for large distances.
2. What criteria decide whether something is alive?
Molecular movements, maintenance of organization, energy utilization, growth, reproduction, response
to stimuli.
3. What are outside raw materials used for by an organism?
Energy, growth, repair, and maintenance of body structures.
4. What processes are essential for maintaining life?
Nutrition, respiration, transportation, excretion.
5. Differences between autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition?
Autotrophs make their own food (CO₂, H₂O, sunlight); heterotrophs depend on others for food.
6. Where do plants get raw materials for photosynthesis?
CO₂ from air (stomata), water and minerals from soil (roots).
7. Role of acid in stomach?
Creates acidic medium for pepsin action, kills bacteria.
8. Function of digestive enzymes?
Break down complex food into simpler absorbable molecules.
9. How is small intestine designed for absorption?
Villi increase surface area; rich blood supply for transport.
10. Advantage of terrestrial organisms over aquatic in obtaining oxygen?
Atmosphere has higher O₂ concentration than water, so breathing is easier.
11. Different ways glucose is oxidised?
Aerobic (CO₂ + H₂O + energy), anaerobic in yeast (ethanol + CO₂ + energy), in muscles (lactic acid +
energy).
12. How are O₂ and CO₂ transported in humans?
O₂ by haemoglobin in RBCs; CO₂ dissolved in blood plasma or as bicarbonate.
13. How are lungs designed for gas exchange?
Alveoli provide large surface area; thin walls for diffusion.
14. Components of transport system in humans?
Heart, blood, blood vessels (arteries, veins, capillaries).
15. Why separate oxygenated and deoxygenated blood?
For efficient O₂ supply to body, especially in high-energy need animals.
16. Components of transport system in plants?
Xylem (water, minerals) and phloem (food).
17. How are water and minerals transported in plants?
Xylem vessels: root pressure and transpiration pull.
18. How is food transported in plants?
Phloem translocation using energy (ATP).
19. Structure and functioning of nephrons?
Glomerulus filters blood; Bowman’s capsule collects filtrate; tubule reabsorbs useful substances; urine
formed.
20. Methods used by plants to excrete wastes?
Transpiration, storage in vacuoles/leaves, shedding leaves, excreting into soil, as gums/resins.
21. How is urine production regulated?
By reabsorption of water in kidney tubules based on body’s need.
22. What is photosynthesis? Write its equation.
Process by which plants make food using sunlight. 6CO₂ + 12H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ + 6H₂O.
23. What are stomata? State their function.
Tiny pores on leaves for gas exchange and transpiration.
24. What is respiration? Difference from breathing?
Respiration: cellular process to release energy; breathing: physical process of gas exchange.
25. What is ATP? Why is it important?
Adenosine Triphosphate; energy currency for cellular processes.
26. What is double circulation? Why is it important?
Blood passes through heart twice per cycle; ensures efficient O₂ supply.
27. What is transpiration? State its importance.
Loss of water vapour from leaves; helps in water absorption and cooling.
28. What are enzymes? Give examples in digestion.
Biological catalysts; e.g., amylase (starch), pepsin (proteins), lipase (fats).
29. What is haemodialysis?
Artificial kidney machine to filter blood using dialysis.
30. How do fungi obtain nutrition?
Saprophytic mode: break down dead organic matter externally.