LIFE PROCESSES

CONTENT
• INTRODUCTION
• WHAT IS LIFE PROCESS
• WHAT IS NUTRITION
• NUTRION
• RESPIRATION
• TRANSORTATION
• EXCRETION
 INTRODUCTION
The basic processes of life include organization,
metabolism, responsiveness, movements,
and reproduction. In humans, who represent the
most complex form of life, there are additional
requirements such as growth,
differentiation, respiration, digestion,
and excretion. All of these processes are
interrelated.
 WHAT IS LIFE PROCESSES
• Maintenance of living organism is essential even
if they are moving, resting or even sleeping.
• The processes which together perform the
function of maintenance of ‘life’ are called as life
processes.
• Nutrition, respiration, circulation, excretion are
examples of essential life processes.
 WHAT IS NUTRITION
“Nutrition is the process of taking in food and
converting it into energy and other vital nutrients
required for life.”
 NUTRITION
The process of acquiring food that is needed for nourishment
and sustenance of the organism is called nutrition.
For eg:- When we walk or ride a bicycle, we are using up
energy.
This source of energy is the food we eat.
Types of nutrition
1. Autotrophic nutrition
2. Heterotrophic nutrition
 AUTOTROPHIC
NUTRITION
If an organism can nourish itself by making its own
food
using sunlight or chemicals such mode of nutrition
is called as autotrophic nutrition.
•Plants photosynthesize (use light energy) and are
called photoautotrophs.
•Few bacteria use chemicals to derive energy and
are called chemoautotrophs.
 HETEROTROPHIC
NUTRITION
When an organism depends on others for food, such a
mode of nutrition is called as a heterotrophic mode of
nutrition.
•These organisms depend on autotrophs for their
nutritional requirements.
•E.g. Animals which eat plants as their food are called
herbivores.
•Animals which eat other animals as their food are
called carnivores.
•Holozoic, saprophytic and parasitic nutrition are all
types of heterotrophic nutrition.
 RESPIRATION
Respiration is the movement of oxygen from
the outside environment to the cells within
tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide
in the opposite direction.
RESPIRATION IN HUMANS
• The human respiratory system is more complex and involves
breathing, exchange of gases and cellular respiration.
• A well defined respiratory system helps breathing and
exchange of gases.
• Breathing involves the inhalation of oxygen and exhalation of
carbon dioxide.
• The gaseous exchange takes place in the lungs and oxygen is
supplied to all cells of the body.
• Cellular respiration takes place in each and every cell.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
• The human respiratory system involves the nose, nasal cavities,
pharynx, larynx, trachea/windpipe, bronchi, bronchioles and
alveoli.
• Bronchioles and alveoli are enclosed in a pair of lungs.
• The rib cage, muscles associated with the rib cage and diaphragm,
all help in inhalation and exhalation of gases.
• Exchange of gases takes place between an alveolar surface and
surrounding blood vessels.
• Alveoli provide a large surface area for exchange of gases.
RESPIRATION IN PLANTS
• Unlike animals and humans, plants do not have any
specialized structures for gaseous exchange
• They have stomata (present in leaves) and lenticels
(present in stems) which are involved in the exchange of
gases.
• Compared to animals, plant roots, stems, and leaves
respire at a very lower rate.
 TRANSPORTATION
• All living organisms need a few necessary components like
air, water, and food for their survival.
• On our regular basis, animals ensure these elements by
breathing, drinking and eating.
• The required elements are transported to their body cells
and tissues by a transportation system.
• In plants, the vascular tissue is responsible for
transporting the substances.
 HEART
• Both oxygen and carbon dioxide have to be transported by
the blood, the heart has different chambers to prevent the
oxygen-rich blood from mixing with the blood containing
carbon dioxide.
• 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.
• Oxygen-rich blood from the
lungs comes to upper chamber
of heart in the left atrium.
• Left atrium relaxes when it
collects this blood. It then
contracts, while the next
chamber, the left ventricle,
expands, so that the blood is
transferred to it.
• When the left ventricle
contracts, the blood is
pumped out to the body.
• De-oxygenated blood comes
from the body to the upper
chamber in the right atrium,
as it expands.
• As right atrium contracts,
the corresponding lower
chamber, the right
ventricle, dilates.
• This transfers blood to the
right ventricle, which in
turn pumps it to the lungs
for oxygenation.
• 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.
O2 ENTERS THE BLOOD IN
LUNGS right side and the left
• The separation of the

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.
 THE TUBES – BLOOD
VESSELS
• Arteries are the vessels which carry • On reaching an organ or tissue, the artery
blood away from the heart to various divides into smaller and smaller
organs of the body. vessels to bring the blood in contact with
• Since the blood emerges from the heart all the individual cells.
under high pressure, the arteries have • The smallest vessels have walls which are
thick, elastic walls. one-cell thick and are called capillaries.
• Veins collect the blood from different • Exchange of material between the
organs and bring it back to the heart. blood and surrounding cells takes place
• They do not need thick walls because across this thin wall.
the blood is no longer under • The capillaries then join together to
pressure, instead they have valves that form veins that convey the blood away
ensure that the blood flows only in one from the organ or tissue.
direction.
 LYMPH
• There is another type of fluid also involved in transportation.
• This is called lymph or tissue fluid.
• Through the pores present in the walls of capillaries some
amount of plasma, proteins and blood cells escape into
intercellular spaces in the tissues to form the tissue fluid or
lymph.
• It is similar to the plasma of blood but colourless and contains
less protein
 TRANSPORTATION IN
HUMANS
• Transportation in humans is done by the circulatory
system.
• The circulatory system in humans mainly consists of
blood, blood vessels and heart.
• It is responsible for the supply of oxygen, nutrients,
removal of carbon dioxide and other excretory products.
• It also helps to fight the infections.
 TRANSPORTATION IN
PLANTS
• Transportation is a vital process in plants.
• The process involves the transportation of water and
necessary nutrients to all parts of the plant for its
survival.
• Food and water transportation takes place separately in
plants.
• Xylem transports water and phloem transports food.
 EXCRETION
Excretion is the process of removal of metabolic waste
material and other non-useful substances.
•Organisms like animals have an advanced and
specialized system for excretion.
•But plants lack a well-developed excretory system
like that in animals.
•They do not have special organs for excretion and
thus excretion in plants is not so complex
EXCRETION IN HUMANS
• The excretory system in humans includes
• a pair of kidneys,
• a pair of ureters,
• a urinary bladder and
• urethra.
• It produces urine as a waste product.
EXCRETION IN PLANTS
Plants use completely different strategies for excretion than
those of animals. Oxygen itself can be thought of as a waste
product generated during photosynthesis.
THANKYOU