Life Processes - CBSE 10th Biology Notes
Life Processes - CBSE 10th Biology Notes
Life Processes
Nutrition in Plants: Green plants prepare their own food. They make
food in the presence of sunlight. Sunlight provides energy’, carbon
dioxide and water are the raw materials and chloroplast is the site
where food is made.
What is Photosynthesis?
Photosynthesis: The process by which green plants prepare food is
called photosynthesis.
During this process, the solar energy is converted into chemical
energy and carbohydrates are formed.
Green leaves are the main site of photosynthesis.
The green portion of the plant contains a pigment chloroplast,
chlorophyll (green pigment).
The whole process of photosynthesis can be shown by the
following equation:
Significance of Photosynthesis:
Photosynthesis is the main way through which solar energy is
made available for different living beings.
Green plants are the main producers of food in the ecosystem.
All other organisms directly or indirectly depend on green
plants for food.
The process of photosynthesis also helps in maintaining the
balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the air.
Heterotrophic Nutrition – Life Processes
The mode of nutrition in which an organism takes food from another
organism is called heterotrophic nutrition. Organisms, other than
green plants and blue-green algae follow the heterotrophic mode of
nutrition. Heterotrophic nutrition can be further divided into three
types, viz. saprophytic nutrition, holozoic nutrition, and parasitic.
Saprophytic Nutrition: In saprophytic nutrition, the organism
breakdown the food material outside the body and then absorb
it. For e.g.: Mushrooms, bread moulds, yeast.
Holozoic Nutrition: In holozoic nutrition, the digestion happens
inside the body of the organism. i.e., after the food is taken in
and breakdown happens inside their bodies. Most of the
animals follow this mode of nutrition.
Parasitic Nutrition: The organism which lives inside or outside
another organism (host) and derives nutrition from it is known
as parasites and this type of mode of nutrition is called parasitic
nutrition. For example lice, leeches, tapeworms etc.
Nutrition in Amoeba
Amoeba is a unicellular animal which follows the holozoic mode
of nutrition.
In holozoic nutrition, the digestion of food follows after the
ingestion of food. Thus, digestion takes place inside the body of
the organism.
Holozoic nutrition happens in five steps, viz. ingestion,
digestion, absorption, assimilation and egestion.
Amoeba is a unicellular animal which follows the holozoic mode
of nutrition.
The cell membrane of amoeba keeps on protruding into
pseudopodia.
Amoeba surrounds a food particle with pseudopodia and makes
a food vacuole.
The food vacuole contains food particle and water. Digestive
enzymes are secreted in the food vacuole and digestion takes
place.
After that, digested food is absorbed from the food vacuole.
Finally, the food vacuole moves near the cell membrane and
undigested food is expelled out.
Nutrition in Paramoecium
The cell has a definite shape and food is taken in at a specific
spot.
Food is moved to this spot by the movement of cilia, which
cover the entire surface of the cell.
Steps of respiration:
Breaking down of glucose into pyruvate:
o Happens in the cytoplasm.
o Glucose molecule is broken down into pyruvic acid.
o Glucose molecule is composed of 6 carbon atoms, while
pyruvic acid is composed of 3 carbon atoms.
Fate of Pyruvic Acid:
Further breaking down of pyruvic acid takes place in
mitochondria and the molecules formed depend on the type of
respiration in a particular organism.
Respiration is of two types, viz. aerobic respiration and
anaerobic respiration.
Respiration involves
Gaseous exchange: Intake of oxygen from the atmosphere
and release of CO2 → Breathing.
Breakdown of simple food in order to release energy
inside the cell → Cellular respiration
Types of Respiration
Aerobic respiration: This type of respiration happens in the presence
of oxygen. Pyruvic acid is converted into carbon dioxide. Energy is
released and water molecule is also formed at the end of this
process.
Anaerobic respiration: This type of respiration happens in the
absence of oxygen. Pyruvic acid is either converted into ethyl alcohol
or lactic acid. Ethyl alcohol is usually formed in case of anaerobic
respiration in microbes, like yeast or bacteria. Lactic acid is formed in
some microbes as well as in the muscle cells.
Glucose (6 carbon molecule) → Pyruvate (3 carbon
molecules) + Energy
Pyruvate (In yeast, lack of O2) → Ethyl alcohol + Carbon
dioxide + Energy
Pyruvate (In muscles, lack of O2) → Lactic Acid + Energy
Pyruvate (In mitochondria; the presence of O2) → Carbon
dioxide + Water + Energy
The equations for the above reactions can be written as follows:
Pain in leg muscles while running:
When someone runs too fast, he may experience throbbing
pain in the leg muscles. This happens because of anaerobic
respiration taking place in the muscles.
During running, the energy demand from the muscle cells
increases. This is compensated by anaerobic respiration and
lactic acid is formed in the process.
The deposition of lactic acid causes pain in the leg muscles. The
pain subsides after taking rest for some time.
Exchange of gases:
For aerobic respiration, organisms need a continuous supply of
oxygen, and carbon dioxide produced during the process needs
to be removed from the body.
Different organisms use different methods for the intake of
oxygen and expulsion of carbon dioxide.
Diffusion is the method which is utilized by unicellular and
some simple organisms for this purpose.
In plants also, diffusion is utilized for exchange of gases.
In complex animals, respiratory system does the job of
exchange of gases.
Gills are the respiratory organs for fishes. Fishes take in oxygen
which is dissolved in water through gills.
Since, availability of oxygen is less in the aquatic environment,
so the breathing rate of aquatic organisms is faster.
Insects have a system of spiracles and trachease which is used
for taking in oxygen.
Terrestrial organisms have developed lungs for exchange of
gases.
Availability of oxygen is not a problem in the terrestrial
environment so breathing rate is slower as compared to what it
is in fishes.
Terrestrial organisms: Use atmospheric oxygen for respiration.
Aquatic organisms: Use dissolve oxygen for respiration.
HUMAN RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Role of alveoli:
The alveoli provide a surface where the exchange of gases
can take place.
The walls of the alveoli contain an extensive network of
blood vessels.
The blood brings carbon dioxide from the rest of the body
for release into the alveoli, and the oxygen in the alveolar
air is taken up by the blood in the alveolar blood vessels
to be transported to all the cells in the body.
During the breathing cycle, when air is taken in and let out, the lungs
always contain a residual volume of air so that there is sufficient time
for oxygen to be absorbed and for the carbon dioxide to be released.
o When the body size of animals is large, the diffusion pressure
alone cannot take care of oxygen delivery to all parts of the
body.
o This is done by respiratory pigments which take up oxygen from
the air in the lungs and carry it to tissues which are deficient in
oxygen before releasing it.
o In human beings, the respiratory pigment is haemoglobin which
has a very high affinity for oxygen. This pigment is present in
the red blood corpuscles.
o Carbon dioxide is more soluble in water than oxygen is and
hence is mostly transported in the dissolved form in our blood.
TRANSPORTATION
Human beings like other multicellular organism need a regular
supply of foods, oxygen etc. This function is performed by a
circulatory system or transport system.
Transportation in Human Beings: The circulatory system is
responsible for transport of various substances in human
beings. It is composed of the heart, arteries, veins and blood
capillaries. Blood plays the role of the carrier of substances.
Our Pump- the heart
Heart is a muscular organ, which is composed of cardiac
muscles.
It is so small that, it can fit inside an adult’s wrist. The heart is a
pumping organ which pumps the blood.
The heart has different chambers to prevent the oxygen-rich
blood from mixing with the blood containing carbon dioxide.
The carbon dioxide-rich blood has to reach the lungs for the
carbon dioxide to be removed, and the oxygenated blood from
the lungs has to be brought back to the heart.
This oxygen-rich blood is then pumped to the rest of the body.
The human heart is composed of four chambers, viz. right
atrium, right ventricle, left ventricle and left atrium.
Since ventricles have to pump blood into various organs, they
have thicker muscular walls than the atria do.
Valves ensure that blood does not flow backwards when the
atria or ventricles contract.
Systole: Contraction of cardiac muscles is called systole.
Diastole: Relaxation of cardiac muscles is called diastole.
Vena Cava : Large veins carrying deoxygenated blood to heart.
Pulmonary artery: A blood vessel that carries deoxygenated
blood from the right ventricle to the lungs.
Pulmonary veins: Veins that carry oxygenated blood from the
lungs to the heart.
The separation of the right side and the left side of the heart is
useful to keep oxygenated and deoxygenated blood from
mixing. Such separation allows a highly efficient supply of
oxygen to the body. (Most animals, birds & mammals which use
high energy to maintain body temperature)
Animals, like amphibians and many reptiles, have three-
chambered hearts and tolerate some mixing of the oxygenated
and de-oxygenated blood streams.
Fishes, on the other hand, have only two chambers to their
hearts, and the blood is pumped to the gills, is oxygenated
there, and passes directly to the rest of the body.
Double Circulatory System
The oxygenated blood from the lungs returns to the heart,
which is pumped again into different parts of the body by the
heart. Thus, the blood passed twice through the heart making
one complete round through the body, i.e., once through the
right half in the form of deoxygenated blood and once through
the left half in the form of oxygenated blood.
Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is measured with an instrument called a
sphygmomanometer.
The force that blood exerts against the wall of a vessel is called
blood pressure.
This pressure is much greater in arteries than in veins.
The normal systolic pressure is about 120 mm of Hg and
diastolic pressure is 80 mm of Hg.
Arteries & Veins
Artery Vein
2. Carry blood from the heart to 2. Carry blood from all body parts
all body parts. to the heart.
Capillaries
Smallest blood vessels which have one cell thick walls
Exchange of material between blood and surrounding cells
Maintenance by platelets
In case of any leakage, the blood has platelet cells that circulate
around the body and plug these leaks by helping to clot the blood at
these points of injury.
Lymph/ Tissue Fluid:
Lymph is a fluid that is similar to blood but colourless and
contains less proteins.
Lymph is formed from the fluid (blood,plasma, proteins) which
leaks from blood capillaries and goes to the intercellular space
in the tissues.
Intracellular spaceslymphatic capillariesjoins to form large
lymph vesselslarge veins
Lymph carries digested and absorbed fat from intestine and
drains excess fluid from extra cellular space back into the blood.
TRANSPORTATION IN PLANTS
1. Need for Transportation
Plants absorb water and minerals from the soil (mainly through
roots).
Photosynthesis occurs in leaves, producing food.
Raw materials and food need to be transported throughout the
plant body.
If the plant is tall or has distant parts, diffusion alone isn't
enough—a transport system is essential.
Main organs:
o A pair of Kidneys (filter blood)
o A pair of Ureters (carry urine to bladder)
o A Urinary bladder (stores urine)
o A Urethra (passes urine out)
Urine Formation:
o Nitrogenous waste such as urea or uric acid are removed
from blood in the kidneys.
o Kidneys filter blood and form urine.
o Cluster of very thin-walled blood capillariesBasic
filtration unit.
o Each capillary clustercup-shaped end of coiled
tubeBowman’s capsuleCollects filtrate
o Filtrate enters nephrons (basic functional unit of kidney)
packed close together.
o Re-absorption occurs in tubules depending on the body's
water and salt needs (glucose, amino acids, salts and a
major amount of water).
o The amount of water re-absorbed depends on how much
excess water there is in the body, and on how much of
dissolved waste there is to be excreted.
o Urine flows into ureter → bladder → urethra.
3. Nephron Structure
Each nephron has:
o Bowman's capsule (collects filtrate)
o Glomerulus (cluster of capillaries)
o Tubules and collecting ducts (site of reabsorption)
EXCRETION IN PLANTS
Plants get rid of excess water by transpiration.
Many plant waste products are stored in cellular vacuoles.
Waste products may be stored in leaves that fall off and into the
soil around them.
Other waste products are stored as resins and gums, especially
in old xylem.
Structure of nephron : Each nephron is composed of two parts.
First one is a cup-shaped bag at its upper end which is called
Bowman’s capsule.
The Bowman’s capsule contains a bundle of blood capillaries
which is called glomerulus. One end of the glomerulus is attached
to the renal artery which brings the impure blood containing the
urea waste into it. These impurities are filtered. The other part of
the nephron is coiled. In this part, the substances like sugar
(glucose), amino acid, ions and excess water which are required by
the body, are reabsorbed. The substance remained in the nephron
is mainly urine containing dissolved urea in water which is
expelled from the body through urethra from time to time.
Functions of nephron :
Filtration of blood takes place in Bowman’s capsule from the
capillaries of glomerulus. The filtrate passes into the tubular part
of the nephron. This filtrate contains glucose, amino acids, urea,
uric acid, salts and water.
Reabsorption : As the filtrate flows along the tubule, useful
substances such as glucose, amino acids, salts and water are
selectively reabsorbed into the blood by capillaries surrounding
the nephron tubule.
Urine : The filtrate which remained after reabsorption is called
urine. Urine contains dissolved nitrogenous waste like urea and
uric acid, excess salts and water. Urine is collected from nephrons
to carry it to the ureter from where it passes into urinary bladder.