Chapter Notes: Life Processes- 2

Respiration
●​ Organisms like yeast perform anaerobic respiration, breaking down glucose into ethanol,

carbon dioxide, and energy without using oxygen. Since this process occurs without air

(oxygen), it is called anaerobic respiration.

●​ During vigorous exercise, when oxygen is limited, muscles perform anaerobic respiration,

producing lactic acid and energy. The accumulation of lactic acid in our muscles during

sudden activity causes cramps.​

●​ ​

Aerobic and Anaerobic Respiration

Glycolysis
●​ The first step in the breakdown of glucose—a six-carbon molecule—into a three-carbon

molecule called pyruvate occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell. This step is common to both

aerobic and anaerobic respiration.

●​ Breakdown of pyruvate using oxygen takes place in the mitochondria. This process breaks

up the three-carbon pyruvate molecule to produce three molecules of carbon dioxide and

water, along with the release of energy. Since this process occurs in the presence of air

(oxygen), it is called aerobic respiration.

 ●​ The energy released during cellular respiration is immediately used to synthesize a molecule

called ATP (Adenosine triphosphate), which is used to fuel all other activities in the cell.

The energy released during aerobic respiration is significantly greater than that released during
anaerobic respiration. In these processes, ATP is broken down to provide energy for various
endothermic reactions taking place in the cell.

Respiration in Humans​

●​ In human beings, air enters the body through the nostrils. As it passes through, fine hairs

filter the air, ensuring it is free of dust and other impurities.

●​ From the nostrils, air moves through the pharynx and into the lungs via the trachea.

●​ The trachea contains incomplete C-shaped rings of cartilage, preventing the air passage

from collapsing when no air is present.

●​ The trachea divides into bronchi and bronchioles within the lungs, culminating in

thin-walled, balloon-like structures called alveoli, where gas exchange occurs due to their

extensive network of blood vessels.

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Respiration in humans

●​ Upon inhalation, the chest cavity expands. The contraction of external intercostal muscles

pushes the rib cage outward and upward, while the diaphragm flattens.

●​ This increase in chest cavity volume results in decreased pressure, causing air to rush into

the lungs through the external nostrils. This process is known as inspiration or inhalation.

●​ During expiration or exhalation, stale air rich in carbon dioxide is expelled.

●​

Inspiration and expiration

 ●​ This occurs due to the relaxation of inspiratory muscles, pulling the rib cage inward. The

diaphragm relaxes, taking a dome shape, which reduces the size of the thoracic cavity and

compresses the lungs.

●​ The respiratory pigment hemoglobin in red blood cells (RBCs) has a high affinity for both O2

and CO2. Carbon dioxide is primarily transported as bicarbonate ions in the plasma, with

some dissolved or bound to hemoglobin.

●​ The upper respiratory tract, including the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles, is lined with small

hair-like cilia that help remove germs and dust from inhaled air.

Transportation in Human Beings

​
Blood carries numerous substances such as salts, vitamins, hormones, and waste products. The
transportation system in humans includes the heart, blood vessels (arteries, veins, and capillaries), and
circulatory fluids (blood and lymph).

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Our pump- The Heart​

●​ The heart is a muscular organ approximately the size of a fist. A mammalian heart consists of

four chambers: the upper chambers, known as auricles or atria, and the lower chambers

called ventricles.​

●​ Double circulation occurs in humans, meaning the same blood passes through the heart

twice to complete one cycle.

●​ The right side of the heart receives deoxygenated blood, while the left side pumps

oxygenated blood. There is no mixing of these blood types.

●​ Deoxygenated blood returns to the right auricle via two large veins: the superior and inferior

vena cava.

●​ When the right atrium contracts, the right ventricle dilates, allowing blood to flow into it before

being pumped to the lungs for oxygenation.

●​ The left ventricle's contraction sends oxygenated blood to the body through the aorta, the

largest artery.

●​ The walls of the ventricles are thicker than those of the auricles because they pump blood

under higher pressure to the lungs (right ventricle) and the rest of the body (left ventricle).
 Valves prevent backflow of blood during contractions.​

●​ ​

Double circulatory system

●​ In mammals and birds, the separation between the left and right sides of the heart is

advantageous because it prevents the mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. This is

crucial for animals with high energy demands, like birds and mammals, which need to

maintain body temperature.

●​ Fish have a two-chambered heart with one auricle and one ventricle. In single circulation,

blood is pumped to the gills for oxygenation and then directly to the body, passing through the

heart once per cycle.

Blood Pressure​

●​ Blood pressure is the force exerted by blood against the walls of blood vessels. This

pressure is significantly higher in arteries compared to veins.

●​ The heart's contraction is known as systole, while its relaxation is referred to as diastole.

Blood pressure during systole is called systolic pressure, and during diastole, it is termed

diastolic pressure. The standard systolic pressure is 120 mm of Hg, and diastolic pressure

is 80 mm of Hg.

●​ Blood pressure is measured using a device called a sphygmomanometer. High blood

pressure, or hypertension, arises from the narrowing of arterioles, leading to greater

resistance to blood flow. This condition can cause an artery to rupture, resulting in internal

bleeding.

Systolic and Diastolic Pressure

Blood Vessels

●​ Arteries transport blood away from the heart to various body organs. Due to the high

pressure of blood exiting the heart, arteries possess thick, elastic walls.
 ●​ Veins return deoxygenated blood from the body's organs back to the heart. They have thinner

walls since the blood within is not under high pressure, and they feature valves that ensure

blood flows in one direction.

●​ When reaching organs or tissues, arteries branch into smaller vessels to deliver blood to

individual cells. The smallest vessels, known as capillaries, have walls that are just one cell

thick, facilitating material exchange between blood and surrounding cells.

●​ Capillaries converge to form veins, which carry blood away from the organ or tissue and back

to the heart.

​ ​ Arteries, Veins and Capillaries

Lymph

●​ Another important fluid involved in transportation is lymph, also known as tissue fluid.

Plasma, proteins, and blood cells escape through the pores in capillary walls into intercellular

spaces, forming tissue fluid or lymph.

●​ Lymph resembles blood plasma but is colorless and contains less protein. It enters lymphatic

capillaries from intercellular spaces, which merge to form larger lymph vessels that

eventually connect to larger veins.

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●​ Lymph plays a crucial role in carrying digested and absorbed fats from the intestine and

draining excess fluid from the extracellular space back into the blood.

●​ Lymph is a colorless, light yellow, viscous fluid formed when some fluid passes from blood

capillaries into intercellular spaces in the tissues through pores in the capillary walls. It

contains less protein than blood plasma.

●​ Lymph drains into lymphatic capillaries from intercellular spaces, joining to form larger lymph

vessels that eventually open into larger veins.

●​ Lymph carries digested and absorbed fat from the intestine and drains excess fluid from the

extracellular space back into the blood.

Transportation in Plants

●​ Xylem transports minerals and water from roots to other parts of the plant, while phloem

transports the products of photosynthesis from leaves to other parts and storage organs.

●​ Xylem tissue consists of four components: xylem vessels, xylem tracheids, xylem fibers, and

xylem parenchyma.

●​ Water and minerals are conducted from roots to other parts due to root pressure,

transpirational pull, and cohesion-adhesion forces.

●​ The transport of soluble products of photosynthesis is called translocation and occurs in the

part of the vascular tissue known as phloem. Phloem also transports amino acids and other
 substances to storage organs.

●​ Translocation of food and other substances takes place in the sieve tubes with the help of

adjacent companion cells, in both upward and downward directions. Material like sucrose is

transferred into phloem tissue using energy from ATP, which increases the osmotic pressure

of the tissue, causing water to move into it. This pressure moves the material in the phloem to

tissues with less pressure.

Excretion in Humans
​
The biological process involved in the removal of harmful metabolic wastes from the body is known as
excretion. Different organisms employ various strategies for this purpose. In complex multicellular
organisms like humans, specialized organs carry out this function.

The excretory system of humans comprises a pair of kidneys, a pair of ureters, a urinary bladder, and
a urethra. The kidneys are situated in the abdomen, one on each side of the backbone. Urine produced
in the kidneys travels through the ureters to the urinary bladder, where it is stored until it is expelled
through the urethra.

Functions of the Kidneys​

●​ Each kidney contains numerous filtering units called nephrons, densely packed together.

●​ Each nephron consists of a cup-shaped structure known as Bowman’s capsule (which

contains a cluster of capillaries called glomerulus), a convoluted tube, and a collecting duct.

●​ As the glomerular filtrate moves through the nephron's tubular part, useful substances such

as glucose, amino acids, mineral ions, and water are reabsorbed by the blood capillaries

surrounding the nephron.

●​ Each kidney filters approximately 180 liters of plasma daily, producing about one to two liters

of urine, as most of the filtrate is reabsorbed by the kidney tubules.

●​ The kidneys play a crucial role in excretion, filtering soluble nitrogen compounds as waste

products.

●​ Kidneys perform two essential functions: (i) filtering nitrogenous waste from the blood, and

(ii) osmoregulation, which maintains the appropriate balance of water and ions in the body.
 ●​ An artificial kidney is utilized to filter the blood of patients. The process of purifying blood

using an artificial kidney is referred to as hemodialysis.

●​ The urinary bladder is muscular and regulated by the nervous system, allowing for the control

of the urge to urinate.

Excretion in Plants​

Plants employ completely different strategies for excretion than those of animals. Oxygen itself can be
thought of as a waste product generated during photosynthesis! We have discussed earlier how plants
deal with oxygen as well as carbon dioxide. They can get rid of excess water by transpiration.
Waste Management Strategies

●​ Plants use the fact that many of their tissues consist of dead cells.

●​ They can even lose some parts, such as leaves.

●​ Many plant waste products are stored in cellular vacuoles.

●​ Waste products may also be contained in leaves that fall off.

●​ Other waste products are stored as resins and gums, especially in old xylem.

●​ Plants also excrete some waste substances into the soil around them.