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1.1 - Life Process - 1 To 26.Pmd
1.1 - Life Process - 1 To 26.Pmd
CHAPTER
LIFE PROCESS
NUTRITION
Every type of physical work (walking of animals, working of machines or automobiles) is possible
only with the help of energy which is supplied with the help of fuel or food. Even during sleeping,
we always need energy to carry out our vital activities like heart beating and breathing etc. In our
body, the energy is supplied by the food we eat daily. Then two questions arise :
Functions of Nutrients
For any living organism, the nutrients perform following functions :
(i) Growth and development
(ii) For obtaining energy to carry out various life processes
(iii) To develop resistance against diseases
(iv) To repair damaged and old worn out cells
Definition : The term nutrition is derived from the word nutrient. The process of intake of food, its
digestion, absorption and distribution to different parts is called nutrition. Nutrition can also be
defined in some more simplified ways as :
• It is defined as the process of acquiring food material and changing it into simple
absorbable form with the help of biochemical reactions.
Or
• It is the process of acquiring energy and materials (directly or indirectly).
Or
It is the process by which organisms obtain energy (in the form of food) for their
growth, repair, maintenance and reproduction etc.
MODES OF NUTRTION
In all the living organisms, there are mainly two modes of nutrition depending upon the mode of
obtaining nutrients from the environment. These modes are :
1. Autotrophic Nutrition (Gk. Auto – self + troph – nutrition) or self nutrition
2. Heterotrophic Nutrition (GK. Hetero – different + troph – nutrition) or nutrition derived from some
other or different means.
1. Autotrophic Nutrition
In this mode of nutrition, the living organisms manufacture their food on their own with the help of
photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. They are also called self-feeders or photosynthesizers or
chemosynthesizers or autotrophs, for example, plants, bacteria and cyanobacteria (BGA).
• The autotrophs always prepare their food (organic) with the help of some inorganic materials
like carbon dioxide, water and some minerals with the help of photosynthesis (manufacturing
of food in presence of light) or chemosynthesis (manufacturing of food with the help of some
simple molecules in absence of light).
Types of nutrition
Holozoic
Heterotrophic Saprophytic
(Animals, fungi
and some bacteira) Parasitic
Mutualistic
Nutrition
Autotrphic
(Plants and some
bacteria)
• During photosynthesis, there is need of a special pigment called chlorophyll which traps and
fixes solar energy to convert the same into chemical energy in the form of food (e.g., glucose).
2. Heterotrophic Nutrition
As the term is indicating in this mode of nutrition, the organisms obtain their food by some mode
other than the autotrophic one. The organisms carrying out heterotrophic nutrition are called
heterotrophs, for example, all animals, fungi and most prokaryotes including bacteria.
• These organisms make use of readymade food either in the form of dead or living plants or
animals.
• The heterotrophic nutrition is a type of nutrition in which the energy is derived from the intake
and digestion of the organic substances, whether of plant or animal source.
• In this mode of nutrition the complex organic food is taken inside the body through any of the
mode. This taken food is then broken down into some simple molecules with the help of digestion
process. After digestion, the simple digested food materials are absorbed for their utilization in
various forms as needed by the concerned organism.
(ii) Saprophytic or Saprotrophic (Sapro – rotten + phyton – plant; trophos – feeder) Nutrition
• It means the organisms feed on dead and decaying organic matter (plant or animal parts). They
are also called saprophytes or saprotrophs.
• They were once regarded as plants, hence the use of suffix phyte in saprophyte. A more recent
term saprotroph avoids this problem.
• In this nutrition, the complex organic matter is first dissolved by secreting certain hydrolysing
enzymes and then the soluble matter is absorbed through the body surface.
Can you imagine what would happen if all the saprotrophs disappear from Earth ? Yes, if we take
them positively, they are the real scavangers, for example, fungi (bread mould, mushroom, yeart)
and bacteria.
DRILL - 1
1. Name some activities of life processes.
2. Define nutrition.
3. Based on obtaining food, name the groups of organisms.
4. What is heterotrophic mode of nutrition ?
5. What are parasites ?
6. What are herbivores ?
7. What are carnivores ? Give some examples.
8. What are omnivores ?
9. Depending upon food habit, name the three types of holozoic animals.
10. Give some examples of organisms exhibiting parasitic mode of nutrition.
The glucose formed by photosynthesis helps the plants to meet requirement of energy for their
various activities. The manufacturing of glucose by the plants takes place in two phases, that is,
light reaction and dark reaction which occur in presence or absence of light respectively.
Carotenoids act as accessory pigments as they transfer the absorbed light energy to chlorophyll a.
They absorb mainly blue and green region of visible light and reflect orange and yellow colours.
Due to their reflected colours, they are also called orange-yellow pigments.
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Class - 10 LIFE PROCESS
Why do plants look green ? The plants appear green because chlorophyll of plants (particularly
chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b, the two main pigments in plants) absorbs blue and red light of the
white sunlight and reflects green, unless masked by other pigments.
Nucleus Chloroplast
2. Water
• Water is always needed by the plants for its use during photsynthesis. The water absorbed from
the soil is carried upwards through xylem vessels upto the leaves. Mineral salts required by the
plants are also transported to different parts of the plant alongwith the water.
• Inside the chloroplasts of the leaves, the water molecules split into hydrogen and oxygen with
the help of light energy of solar light. This process is called photolysis of water.
Chemical Energy
• CO2 + 2H2
Dark Re action
[CH O] + H O
2 2
After having a look over the above steps, series of chemical reactions at the time of
photosynthesis.
(i) Light Reaction (ii) Dark reaction
(i) Light Reaction
As indicated above, the first step is light dependent reaction and hence called light reaction.
• This step occurs inside thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts to prepare chemical energy in the
form of biologically useful forms of energy, that is, ATP and NADPH2.
• During light reaction, light energy breaks up water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen and
this process is called photolysis of water.
• Oxygen is released as a by-product of light reaction occurring during photosynthesis.
• Oxygen released during photosynthesis comes from water instead of CO2 as was earlier thought.
Chl
ADP
ATP
H2O Glucose CO2
NADPH2
NADP
DRILL - 2
1. Name the raw materials used in photosynthesis.
2. What is source of water for photosynthesis ?
3. Write the overall reaction of photosynthesis.
4. What is photosynthesis ? Why do plants look green? Write the chemical equation of photosynthesis.
5. Draw a well labelled diagram showing electron microscopic structure of chloroplast.
6. Describe the events which occur during the process of photosynthesis.
7. Why is photosynthesis called the most important biological process ?
NUTRITION IN AMEOBA
Formation of pseudopodia : When Amoeba comes in contact with a food particle, it responds by
forming a cup-shaped invagination by pseudopodia which envelopes the food material and encloses
it all around (fig.)
Ingestion : The tips of pseudopodia (like the lips of cup) fuse with each other, together with a
variable amount of food particles and water, leading to the formation of a vacuole called food
vacuole. This process is called ingestion (fig.)
Digestion : The vacuole then becomes surrounded by many tiny lysosomes which ultimately fuse
with its membrane and discharge their enzymatic contents into it (fig.). The enzymes are secreted at
different times so that their digestive effects are separated by time.
Exocytosis : The soluble products of digestion are passed out into the cytoplasm from the food
vacuole. And the remaining undigested materials are passed out of the body with the help of a
process called exocytosis which occurs at any point on its surface (fig.)
DRILL - 3
1. Describe ingestion and digestion of food in Amoeba.
2. Describe the structure of stoma.
3. Name the organs of exchange of gases found in higher groups of animals.
4. Define phagocytosis
5. Define pinocytosis.
6. Define phagosome.
7. Define circumvallation
8. Define gastriole.
HUMAN NUTRITION
For obtaining nutrition, the digestive system of human beings consists of a series of organs. All the
digestive organs help to break down complex food into simple molecules with the help of biological
catalysts called enzymes and absorb these simple nutrients are throughout the body.
If a human adult’s digestive tract/ alimentary canal is stretched out, it would be 6 to 9 m long.
Food enters the digestive system through the mouth and passes through the oesophagus, stomach,
small intestine, large intestine, rectum and anus. Other organs, such as the liver, further aid in the
break down of food, absorption of nutrients and elimination of undigestible materials from the
body.
Steps of nutrition in human being
• INGESTION. • DIGESTION.
• ABSORPTION. • ASSMILATION.
• EGESTION.
1. The Mouth
• In humans, digestion begins in the mouth, where both mechanical and chemical digestion occur.
The mouth quickly converts food into a soft, moist mass.
• The muscular tongue pushes the food against the teeth which cut, chop and grind the food.
• Glands in the cheek linings secrete mucus, which lubricates the food for passing through the soft
alimentary canal, making it easier to chew and swallow. Three pairs of salivary glands empty saliva
into the mouth through ducts to moisten the food. Saliva contains the enzyme salivary amylase
(ptyalin) which begins to hydrolyze (break down) starch to give sugar.
• Once food has been reduced to a soft mass, it is ready to be swallowed. The tongue pushes this
mass-called a bolus – to the back of the mouth and into the pharynx. From the pharynx, the bolus is
swallowed to the oesophagus.
• A circular muscle called the oesophageal sphincter separates the oesophagus and the stomach. As
food is swallowed, this muscle relaxes , forming an opening through which the food can pass into
the stomach. Then the muscle contracts, closing the opening to prevent food from moving back into
the oesophagus.
3. The Stomach
• The stomach, located in the upper abdomen just below the diaphragm, towards left is a sac like
structure with strong muscular walls.
• The stomach can expand significantly to store all the food from a meal for both mechanical and
chemical processing.
INFO BIT
Gastric juice : The stomach contracts about three times per minute, churning the food and mixing
it with gastric juice. This fluid, secreted by thousands of gastric glands in the lining of the stomach,
consists of water, hydrochloric acid (HCl), an enzyme called pepsin and mucin (the main component
of mucus). Hydrochloric acid (HCl) performs the following two functions :
(i) Hydrochloric acid creates the acidic environment that pepsin needs to start breaking down
proteins.
(ii) It also kills micro-organisms that may have been ingested in the food.
We might have heard about the complaints of adults regarding acidity which occurs on excessive
release of hydrochloric acid under some abnormal conditions.
• Mucin coats the stomach, protecting it from the effects of the acid and pepsin.
• About four hours or less after a meal, food processed by the stomach, now called chyme, beings
passing a little at a time through the sphincter muscle (called pyloric sphincter) into the duodenum
which is the first portion of the small intestine.
4. The small Intestine and Accessory Organs like Liver and Pancreas
• Complete digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats as well as absorption of the digested food
occurs in the small intestine. For this very purpose, the small intestine recives the secretions of liver
and pancreas.
• This narrow, twisting tube about 2.5 cm in diameter, fills most of the lower abdomen, extending
about 6 m (= 20 ft) in length. This is the longest part of the alimentary canal which is fitted into a
compact space because of extensive coiling.
• The length of small intestine varies in different animals because of various modes of obtaining food
adopted by different animals. For example,
(i) Herbivores (grass eaters) need longer small intestine so that complex cellulose molecules could
be digested.
(ii) Carnivores (flesh eaters) like tigers and lions have a shorter small intestine because the meat can
be digested easily.
• Over a period of three to six hours, peristalsis moves chyme through the duodenum into the next
portion of the small intestine, the jejunum, and finally into the ileum, the last section of the small
intestine.
• Liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates
and some other animals. It has a wide range
of functions, including detoxification,
protein synthesis, and production of
biochemicals necessary for digestion. The
liver is necessary for survival; there is
currently no way to compensate for the
absence of liver function long term, although
liver dialysis can be used short term.
During this time, the liver (largest gland in
the alimentary canal) secretes bile into the
duodenum through the bile duct. Liver
secretes bile, which is stored in gall bladder,
and bile salts but no digestive enzymes.
Pancreatic juice, secreted by the pancreas lying parallel ot and beneath the stomach, enters the
duodenum through the pancreatic duct. Pancreatic juice contains enzymes that break down :
(i) sugars and starches into simple sugars with the help of amylases,
(ii) fats into fatty acids and glycerol with the help of lipases, and
(iii) proteins into amino acids by trypsin.
I INFO BIT
Glands present in the intestinal walls secrete additional enzymes that finally break down
(i) starches and complex sugars into simple sugars
(ii) proteins into amino acids
(iii) fats into fatty acids and glycerol
All the simple organic molecules like amino acids, fatty acids and simple sugars are absorbed by the
small intestine.
• Villi : The small intestine’s capacity for absorption is increased by millions of fingerlike projections
called villi which line the inner walls of the small intestine. Each villus is covered with a single layer
of cells.
• Capillaries : Beneath the villi’s single layer of cells are capillaries (tiny blood vessels) of the blood
stream and the lymphatic system. These capillaries allow nutrients produced by digestion to travel
to the cells of the whole body. Simple sugars and amino acids pass through the capillaries to enter
the blood stream. Fatty acids and glycerol pass through the lymphatic system.
• Assimilation : The body cells make use of the absorbed food nutrients according to their need, for
example : for obtaining energy, building up new tissues and the repair of old ones. This process is
also called assimilation.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
ASSIGNMENT - 1
1. What process would you consider essential for mantaining life?
2. Mention the differences between autotrophic nutrition and heterotrophic nutrition.
3. Mention the role of the acid in our stomach.
4. What is the function of digestive enzymes?
5. How is the small intestine designed to absorb digested food?
6. How does Amoeba engulf its food?
7. What are two phases of Photosynthesis.
8. Name the pancreatic enzyme is effective in digesting protein.
9. Name the enzyme present in saliva breaks down starch.
10. Where does digestion of fat take place in our body?
11. State the importance of the following process occurring during Photosynthesis in plants-
(i) Emission of electrons from chlorophyll (ii) photolysis of water
12. How do each of the following factors affect the productivity in the process of Photosynthesis?
(i) Temperature (ii) Water (iii) Carbon-di-oxide
13. State the function of the following in digestive process :
(i) Bile
(ii) Bicarbonate secreted by duodenal wall
(iii) Pancreatic amylase
14. Define stomata. Draw labelled diagram of stomata. State any two functions of stomata.
15. Draw a diagram of the ‘human alimentary canal’. Label the following body parts on it :
(a) liver (b) Pancreas (c) Gall bladder (d) Duodenum
16. Name the main organs of the human digestive system in the order they participate in the process
of digestion. Describe how digestion of carbohydrates and proteins takes place in our body.
17. Define the terms ‘nutrition’ and ‘nutrients’. List two differences between ‘holozoic nutrition’ and
‘saprophytic nutrition’. Give two examples each of these two types of nutrition.
18. (a) Explain the events which take place during photosynthesis.
(b) Which test is carried out to prove the presence of starch in leaves?
19. Name the products formed after complete digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in the
small intestine.
20. Define photosynthesis?
21. Describe the digestive process in the alimentary canal of Grasshopper.
ASSIGNMENT - 2
1. Which type of digestion occurs in Amoeba and Paramecium ?
2. What is food of Amoeba ?
3. Name one unicellular and omnivorous animal.
4. Name a vestigeal structure in the alimentary canal of man.
5. Give the number of different types of teeth in man.
6. State two functions of stomach in man.
7. What is source of bile juice ?
8. What are two functions of bile juice ?
9. Which type of nutrition is found in man ?
10. Where does protein digestion start in man ?
11. Define villi.
12. Name causative agent of dental caries.
13. State a preventive measure against dental caries.
14. Name the duct of parotid salivary gland.
ASSIGNMENT - 3
15. What is photosynthesis ? Why do plants look green? Write the chemical equation of photosynthesis.
16. Draw a well labelled diagram showing electron microscopic structure of chloroplast.
17. Describe the events which occur during the process of photosynthesis.
18. Why is photosynthesis called the most important biological process ?
19. Describe ingestion and digestion of food in Amoeba.
20. Discuss protein digestion in man.
21. Bile juice has no enzyme but the digestion is not proper if it is absent. Why ?
22. What is main site of absorption of digested food in man ? How is it adapted for complete absorption?
23. How do defaecation and excretion differ from each other ?
24. Give the cause and symptoms of dental caries.
25. How guard cells help in opening and closure of stoma ?
26. How does diffusion of gases occur in leaves of a plant ?
ASSIGNMENT - 4
27. What is nutrition ? How do plants get their food?
28. Give experiments that prove that CO 2 and light are necessary for the process of photosynthesis.
29. Discuss the mechanism, how food (carbohydrate) is synthesized during photosynthesis ?
30. Define various steps of the process of nutrition in the animals.
31. Enumerate the process of nutrition in a unicellular organism.
32. Draw a labelled diagram of alimentary canal of man.
33. Explain various parts of alimentary canal of man.
3. GROUP A GROUP B
1. Stroma A. Piled up thylakoids
2. Grana B. Piled up moesophyll cells.
3. Guard cells C. Disc shaped
4. Chloroplasts D. Elongated cells
5. Palisade tissue E. Heart shaped cells
F. Kidney shaped cells
G. Colourless region.
4. GROUP A GROUP B
1. Combustion A. Pyruvic acid
2. Glycolysis B. production
3. Phosphorylation C. Mitochondria
4. Matrix D. Formation of ATP
5. Citric acid cycle E. ATP & NADP
F. Charring of sugar
G. Formation of NADP
MCQ EXERCISE - I
9. Raw materials required for the process of
1. Oxygen which is liberated during photosynthesis are :
photosynthesis comes from -
(a) CO2 and H2O
(a) Carbon di oxide
(b) Sugar and H2O
(b) Water
(c) O2 and chlorophyll
(c) Chlorophyll (d) Minerals and O2
(d) Phosphoglyceric acid 10. Photosynthesis takes place in :
2. Nine-tenth of the world photosynthesis is (a) Mitochondria (b) Chloroplast
carried out by
(c) Nucleus (d) Cytoplasm
(a) Shrubs (b) Herbs
11. Choose the event that does not occur in
(c) Trees (d) Algae photosynthesis -
3. The process of taking in CO2 by plants and (a) Absorption of light energy by chlorophyll
releasing O2 is termed as
(b) Reduction of CO2 into carbohydrates
(a) Transpiration (b) Respiration (c) Conversion of light energy in to chemical
(c) Photosynthesis (d) Endosmosis energy
4. In plants during the process of photosynthesis (d) Oxidation of carbon to CO2
(a) CO2 is taken in 12. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is
(b) O2 is taken in approximately
(d) O2 is taken in and CO2 is given out (3) 0.30 % (4) 3.00 %
5. During respiration and photosynthesis gases 13. At very high intensities, green plants show
which are exchanged : (a) High rate of photosynthesis
(a) N2 and CO2 (b) High rate of respiration
(b) O2 and CO2 (c) Low rate of respiration
(c) CO2 and methane (d) Low rate of photosynthesi
(d) N2 and chlorine 14. Cuscutta is the example of
6. In which of the following process, the light (a) Autotrophs (b) Saprophytes
energy is converted into chemical energy
(c) Parasites (d) Insecticides
(a) Digestive action (b) Respiration
15. By which inorganic components synthesize food
(c) Photosynthesis (d) Fermentation with the help of chlorophyll and sunlight ?
7. During photosynthesis the oxygen in glucose (a) CO2, CH4 (b) CO2, H2O
comes from
(c) CH4, H2O (d) O2, H2 O
(a) Water
16. With the help of what plants synthesize
(b) Carbon di oxide carbohydrates by chlorophyll after absorbing CO2,
(c) O2 in air H2O ?
(d) Both from water and CO2 (a) Wavelength (b) Light
8. The mode of nutrition in green plants is : (c) Sunlight (d) None
(a) Parasitic (b) Saprophytic 17. Which ion is produced during photolysis of
(c) Heterotrophic (d) Autotrophic water?
(a) Carbon (b) Oxide
(c) Chloride (d) Hydrogen
ANSWERS
1. (b) 2. (d) 3. (c) 4. (a) 5. (b) 6. (c)
7. (b) 8. (d) 9. (a) 10. (b) 11. (d) 12. (b)
13. (a) 14. (a) 15. (b) 16. (c) 17. (d) 18. (b)
19. (b) 20. (c) 21. (b) 22. (c) 23. (c) 24. (b)
25. (c) 26. (c) 27. (d) 28. (b) 29. (a) 30. (b)
31. (a) 32. (b) 33. (a) 34. (a) 35. (b)
36. (c)
19. Bacteria entering with contaminated food are 24. Which is sweet in taste but is not sugar-
killed in stomach by
(a) Starch (b) Saccharine
(a) Pepsin
(c) Lactose (d) Protein
(b) Renin
25. Mucus is secreted by the :-
(c) Sodium bicarbonate
(a) Stomach (b) Duodenum
(d) HCl
(c) Large intestine (d) All of the above
20. Digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats
completes in- 26. In stomach after physical and chemical diges-
tion food is called:-
(a) Stomach
(a) Chyme (b) Chyle
(b) Liver
(c) Small intestine (c) Amino acid (d) Bolus
(d) Large intestine 27. A normal human being requires how much
calories per day
21. Absorption of digested food chiefly occurs in-
(a) Stomach (b) Colon (a) 2500 k. cal (b) 4000 k.cal
(c) Small Intestine (d) Large Intestine (c) 5000 k.cal (d) 686 k cal
22. Pancreatic juice takes part in digestion of- 28. The toxic substance are detoxicated in the
(a) Proteins carbohydrate and fats human body by :
ANSWERS
1. (a) 2. (a) 3. (c) 4. (b) 5. (b) 6. (d)
7. (b) 8. (c) 9. (b) 10. (c) 11. (c) 12. (b)
13. (c) 14. (a) 15. (c) 16. (c) 17. (c) 18. (c)
19. (d) 20. (c) 21. (c) 22. (a) 23. (c) 24. (b)
25. (a) 26. (a) 27. (a) 28. (c) 29. (c)