Chapter 5 life process

The process which maintains body function and necessary for survival are
called life processes.
All the processes which together keep the living organisms alive and perform
task to maintain the body are called life processes. Examples
1. Nutrition
2. Respiration
3. Transportation
4. Excretion
Nutrition
The process of taking nutrients from food is called nutrition.
 Nutrients are the substance required for proper growth and maintenance
of a living body. Ex - Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, water, vitamins,
minerals etc.
Modes of nutrition
Autotrophic nutrition
It is a process in which Organism produces their food from Simple inorganic
material (Water, Carbon dioxide) in the presence of sunlight. Ex – plant
Heterotrophic nutrition
In this process organism depend upon other organism for food to survive. Ex –
human being, amoeba etc.
Nutrition in plant
Photosynthesis
The process in which green plants convert simple inorganic material (water,
carbon dioxide) into complex organic food material (glucose) in the presence of
chlorophyll and sunlight.

Event occurs during photosynthesis

 Absorption of light energy by chlorophyll.
  Conversion light energy to chemical energy.
 Splitting of water molecules into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas.
 Reduction of carbon dioxide to carbohydrates.
Chloroplasts
These are the small organelles found in plant cell. It contains chlorophyll, which
absorb sunlight for photosynthesis.

Stomata
Some other structures are also present such as stomata (tiny pores present on the
surface of the leaf) that participate in gaseous exchange during photosynthesis,
but it is also responsible for large amount of water loss.
Heterotrophic nutrition
These are of three types
Saprotrophic nutrition
The mode of nutrition in which organism obtain food from dead and decaying
organic matter. Ex- bacteria, fungi, yeast etc.
Parasitic nutrition
The mode of nutrition in which organism obtain food from another organism
without killing them. Ex – mosquito, tapeworm etc.
Holozoic nutrition
The mode of nutrition in which herbivores, carnivores and omnivores take
complex molecules which are then broken down into simple and soluble
molecules. Ex – animal, human etc.
Nutrition in amoeba
 Amoeba is a unicellular organism with holozoic mode of nutrition. It
takes place with the help of temporary finger-like extensions called
pseudopodia.
 Different stages of nutrition in Amoeba include ingestion, digestion,
absorption and egestion.

Nutrition in human being

 The digestive system of humans constitutes a long tubular alimentary
canal and digestive glands.
Alimentary Canal
It is a long tube where the entire process of digestion takes place. It is an
internal coiled tube, which runs from anterior mouth to the posterior anus.
Mouth
It acts as the first part of the digestive system from where the food enters into
the alimentary canal. Mouth mainly included of two major parts.
Tongue
 It is a highly muscular sensory organ present at floor of buccal cavity.
 It bears several taste buds for basic taste such as sweet, bitter, salty, sour.
 Tongue also helps in mixing food with saliva.
Teeth
These are hard structures present on the bones of both lower and upper jaw.
Humans have 20 milk teeth and 32 permanent teeth. Four different types of
teeth, are incisors (for cutting the food), canines (for tearing of food), premolars
and molars (for crushing, chewing and grinding of food).
Salivary glands – produce saliva, saliva contain enzyme salivary amylase that
break down starch (food) to simple sugar.

Pharynx
Is small and funnel-shaped. It is located behind the oral cavity. it communicates
with both oesophagus and trachea.
Oesophagus
It is a thin, long muscular tube that leads into stomach. Taking food from mouth
to stomach by peristaltic movements.
Stomach
It is the most dilated shaped part of the alimentary canal. This serves as a store
house of food where partial digestion takes place through the secretion of
gastric glands.
Gastric glands
It releases gastric juice contain HCl, pepsin and mucus.
 HCl- make medium acidic, kill the harmful bacteria of food.
 Pepsin- break down the proteins into amino acid.
 Mucus- protect inner lining of stomach.
Small Intestine
It is the longest part of alimentary canal which is the site of complete digestion
of food into different components.
Secretions from liver and pancreas enter the intestine to help in the digestion
process.
Liver produces bill juice and bile salt. Bile juice makes the food alkaline and
bile salt break the large fat globules. This is called emulsification.
Gall bladder- it stores bile juice and salt.
Pancreas – trypsin, lipase
Trypsin - break down protein into amino acid.
Lipase - it breaks down emulsified fat into fatty acid and glycerol

Small finger-like projections called Villi are present and help in nutrient
absorption. Herbivores have longer small intestine as plants have cellulose that
takes time to digest.
Large Intestine
Although shorter, but is called large intestine because it is wider in diameter
than small intestine.
The unabsorbed food sent to long intestine where its wall absorbs more water
from this material and rest of the material removed from the body via anus.
Mechanism of Digestion of Food
Various steps involved in digestion of these nutrients are given below
 1. Ingestion it is the process of food intake by mouth. Food moistened by
saliva, before swallowing is masticated into smaller particles by teeth.
2. Digestion Process of breaking down large organic molecules into smaller
ones is called digestion. It is done with the help of enzymes.
3. Absorption of Food Protein, carbohydrates, and nucleotides are absorbed
by blood capillaries present in villi, while fats are absorbed by lymph
ducts.
4. Assimilation it is the distribution of digested food to various cells of the
body. The food absorbed by villi reaches every cell of the body and is
used to build /repair tissues.
5. Egestion it is involve elimination of undigested food through anus.
Respiration
The process in which the cells of an organism obtain energy by combining
oxygen and glucose is called respiration. It involves breathing.
There are two types of respiration
Aerobic respiration
It is the process of producing energy in the presence of oxygen.
Anaerobic respiration
It is the process of producing energy in the absence or lack of oxygen.

The energy released during cellular respiration is used to synthesise molecule

called ATP (adenosine triphosphate) (energy currency of life).
Human respiratory system
Oxygen riches air is takes into the body through the nose. The air is filtered by
fine hairs present in nose. From nose the air passes through the throat to lungs.
In lunges
The air passage divides into smaller and smaller tubes and finally reach in
alveoli.
Alveoli
It is a balloon like structure which provide a surface for exchange of gases. The
walls of the alveoli connect with blood vessels. Then, oxygen dissolve in
haemoglobin from alveoli and carried from lungs to cells in all body part.
The blood brings carbon dioxide from the cells release into alveoli.

Respiration in plants
Gaseous exchange occurs in plant through.
 Stomata in leaves
 Lenticels in stem
 Surface of roots
During respiration plant absorbs oxygen and use them with glucose to create
carbon dioxide, water and energy.
Transportation
The transportation is a life process in which a substance adsorbed (or made) in
one part of the body of an organism is carried to other part of the body through
the circulating fluids like blood and lymph.
Transportation in human
Blood is a connective tissue in humans. It transports necessary substances to
cells and transport metabolic waste product away from those same cells.

The main component of blood

Plasma
It is yellow colour fluid. It transports food, carbon dioxide, waste product etc.
Red blood cells
It contains haemoglobin which transport oxygen.
Platelets
These help in blood clotting
White blood cells
These cells fight against harmful bacteria, viruses and germs.

The heart pumps the blood through the blood vessels.

Heart
Heart is a muscular organ. It has two side separated by muscular wall. It has
four chambers left atrium, right atrium, left ventricle and right ventricle.
How heart works
De oxygenated blood comes from body to right atrium, which then pumped to
your lungs by right ventricle through arteries, where it drops carbon dioxide and
carry oxygen. Then oxygenated blood comes to left atrium through veins, which
then pumped to body part by left ventricle through aorta.

Blood vessels
Arteries
These carry oxygenated blood from heart to body part except pulmonary artery.
These are thick and elastic. The smallest vessels which are one cell thick are
called capillaries.
Veins
Veins carry deoxygenated blood from body part to heart except pulmonary vein.
These are thin and less elastic.
Lymph
This is also a transporter fluid. The pores present in the walls of capillaries some
amount of plasma, proteins and blood cells escape into intercellular space in the
tissue to form the lymph.
 It is colourless
 Lymph absorbs and transported fat from intestine
 It drains away the excess tissue metabolism
Transportation in plants
There are two transport tissue in plant
Xylem
 It transports water and minerals in upward direction from roots to highest
point of the plant.
 It only transports upward.
 It works on the principal of transpiration.
Phloem
 It transports food from leaves to other part of the plant.
 It can transport upward as well as downward.
 Transport of food from leaves to other part of plant is called translocation.
Transpiration
It is the process of loss of water as vapour from aerial part of the plant.
Excretion
It is the biological process by which an organism removes the metabolic waste
from the body.
Metabolic wastes
  Digestive waste
 Respiratory waste
 Nitrogenous waste – urea, uric acid, water, etc.
Human excretory system
It consists of two kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder and urethra.

Kidneys
It filters the blood and remove wastes.
Ureters
It drains out urine from kidney to urinary bladder.
Urinary bladder
Transmit urine outside body.

Kidney has filtration unit called nephrons.

Nephrons
Nephrons are filtration units of kidney. It consists of a tube which is connected
to duct and a cup shaped structure that is Bowman’s capsule.
Bowman’s capsule
It filters blood and collect urine.
Henle’s loop
Reabsorption of glucose, amino acid and water.

Then urine enters into ureters through duct and collected in urinary bladder.
Excretion in plant
 Plant remove oxygen through stomata.
 Excess water removed through stomata by transpiration process.
 Plant also loses some old leaves and barks.