PRESIDIUM INDIRAPURAM

GRADE X
TOPIC: LIFE PROCESSES
WORKSHEE
PRESIDIUM INDIRAPURAM
GRADE X
TOPIC: LIFE PROCESSES
WORKSHEE
PRESIDIUM INDIRAPURAM
Students Hanhout-1
GRADE X (BIOLOGY)
CHAPTER: LIFE PROCESSES
TOPIC: NUTRITION

Life means living. Living and Non-living matter are basically distinguished on the basis of
certain functions and processes that a living matter perform in order to remain alive. All
these processes which together keep the living organism alive and perform the job of body
maintenance are called as Life Processes. Some of these life processes are nutrition,
respiration, excretion, reproduction, circulation etc. On this basis Living being can be
defined as:
“Living things are complex organisation of molecules, which perform certain life
processes such as growth, metabolism, reproduction, etc,. that distinguish them from
non-living matter.”

NUTRITION

Nutrition is the process of taking food by an organism and its utilization by the body to gain
energy in order to do the day to day activities and for growth and repair of damaged body
parts. The word nutrition comes from the word ‘Nutrient’ which is any organic or Inorganic
substance required for maintaining of life and survival of living organism. The food taken by
an organism consists of large number of Organic nutrients like carbohydrares, proteins, fats
and inorganic nutrients like Iron, calcium and phosphorus.

Modes of Nutrition
There are various methods by which the living organisms obtain nutrients from the
environment. The method of obtaining food by an organism is called as modes of Nutrition.
There are basically two modes of Nutrition.
Autotrophic mode of nutrition - Autotrophic nutrition is a kind of nutrition in which the
organisms prepare (or sunthesize) their own food utilizing only the inorganic raw material
like CO2,water etc present in the surrounding. All green plants and some bacteria such as
cynobacteria and Blue green algae prepare their food by autotrophic mode of nutrition.

Heteroptrophic mode of nutrition – Heterotrophic nutrition is a kind of nutrition in which

the organisms derive their nutrition from the intake and digestion of the organic substances
prepared by autotrophs and other organic sources.
Difference Between Autotrophic and Hetrotrophic mode of Nutrition.

Autotrophic Nutrition Heterotrophic Nutrition

1)Autotrophs prepare their own food from 1)Organisms get their food directly or
inorganic substances. Indirectly from other autotrophs.
2)They posseses photosynthetic pigment 2)They lack photosynthetic pigment for
called chlorophyll for trapping solar energy.
trapping light.
3)They convert light energy into chemical 3) They do not convert light energy into
energy. chemical energy.
4) Food is stored in the form of Starch 4) There is range of strategies through which
food is taken in
5) All Green plants, cynobacteria and Blue 5)Humans, animals and some bacteria.
Green Algae.

AUTOTROPHIC MODE OF NUTRITION (NUTRITION IN PLANTS)

Green plants are autotrophs and synthesize their own food by the process of photosynthesis.
‘Photo’ means light and ‘Synthesis’ means to build, thus photosynthesis is a biochemical
process through which green plants, algae and a few autotrophic bacteria synthesize food
(Glucose) using carbon dioxide and water in the presence of light energy from the sun and
chlorophyll of the plant. During this process O2 is released as a byproduct. The food
produced by this process is stored in the plants in the form of Starch.
The process of photosynthesis takes place in green leaves of plant which has a specialized
cell organelle called as CHLOROPLAST.

Structure of Chloroplast

Chloroplast is the photosynthetic unit of the plant which traps the solar energy and convert it
to biochemical energy. It is a double membraned structure and the inner part can be divided
into two parts, grana (singular granum) and stroma.
GRANA - The granum consists of folded membranous sacs arranged into numerous stacks.
Each membranous flat sac is called thylakoid. The memberanes of the thylakoids are
composed of photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll and carotenoids for capturing solar
energy. It also contains certain proteins required for the process of oxidation-reduction
reactions during photosynthesis.
STROMA – Grana are embedded in a gel-like, colourless matrix known as stroma. It
contains many enzymes involved in the synthesis of food.
RAW MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS

The raw materials required for Photosynthesis are:

Carbon Di Oxide (CO2) – Plants obtain most of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
This CO2 enters the plants leaves through small pores at the undersurface of leaves known as
Stomatal pores. Each stomatal pore have a pair of guard cells that regulate its opening and
closing.
During day the guard cells manufacture food in the form of sugars which increase the
osmotic pressure of the cell, as a result the water from the adjoining cells move into the guard
cell by endosmosis. As a result the guard cells become turgid and bulge outward causing the
opening of the stomata. This leads to transpiration and movement of gases through it.
During Night – At night the stored food is translocated to different parts of the plants for
utilization. This reduces the osmotic pressure and as a result water moves out of the guard
cells and they become flaccid and their inner walls straighten leading to closure of stomata.
As no CO2 enters, there is no photosynthesis at night.

Water (H2O) – Water required for Photosynthesis is absorbed by roots through the process
of osmosis. This water reaches the xylem vessels and then transported through the stem to the
intercellular spaces of the mesophyll tissues of the leaves. Water diffuses inside cell and
reaches chloroplast .
Sunligt (Energy) – It is the ultimate source of energy which is trapped by the pigment
(chlorophyll) present in the leaf. The energy from the sun comes in the form of small packets
of energy called as photons. These photons carry enormous energy which triggers a chain of
reactions in the chloroplast and leads to the synthesis of food in the form of carbohydrate.
Chlorophyll – They are green-coloured pigment constituting the major amount of plant
pigments. They are present in the thalakoid of Grana region in the chloroplast. There are
atleast 7 types of chlorophyll molecules namely a, b, c, d, e, bacteriochlorophyll and
bacteriovirdin. Chlorophyll a is the major pigment which traps solar energy while all other
are accessory pigments which trap energy and transfer it to chlorophyll a. All the above
pigments together constitute photosystem of plant. All of the chlorophyll have light trapping
capacity, and they trap energy in the visible range of the spectrum that ranges from 400nm-
750nm. Maximum energy is absorbed from blue and red region of the visible spectrum.

PROCESS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Photosynthesis is a process which converts light energy to chemical energy. Green plants trap
light energy of the sun and change it into chemical energy which is trapped in the form of
carbohydrate. The process of photosynthesis involves two phases :
Photochemical Phase (Light-Dependent Phase)
This phase of photosynthesis occurs only in the presence of sunlight and is light sensitive and
therefore called as photochemical phase. Light reaction occurs in the thalakoids of
chloroplast and involves the following steps:
Activation of Chlorophyll – Chlorophyll absorbs sunlight and gets activated by absorbing
photons.
Photolysis of Water – Absorption of sunlight splits water molecule into hydrogen ions (H +)
and hydroxyl ion (OH-) and release electrons. This splitting up of H20 under the influence of
light is called as Photolysis of water. The hydroxyl ions (OH -) produced by photolysis of
water combines together under the action of enzyme catalase which results in the formation
of water (H2O) molecule and the release of molecular O2.

2H2O 2H+ + 2OH-

2OH- + 20H- 2H2O + O2 + 4e-

Formation of NADPH2 and ATP – H+ released during photolysis of water is picked up by the
acceptor molecule, NADP which gets activated and reduced to NADPH2.The energy
liberated in the form of electrons during the photolysis of water is absorbed by low energy
compound, ADP. ADP combines with one inorganic phosphate (Pi) and gets converted to
ATP. Since, the energy for this reaction comes from photons, the process is called as
photophosphorylation.

2H+ + 2e- + NADP NADPH2

ADP + Pi + e- ATP

Light- Independent (Dark) Phase

It is light independent biosynthetic phase of photosynthesis which involves reduction of CO2
to sugars and formation of carbohydrate. This reaction occurs in the stoma region of the
chloroplast. The process requires energy which is provided by ATP and NADPH2 formed
during the light phase. The fixing of CO2 into carbohydrate takes place in a series of steps
which are controlled by specific enzymes. This cyclic reaction is called as Calvin cycle.
FACTORS AFFECTING PHOTOSYNTHESIS

The process of photosynthesis is influenced by both environmental and internal factors. The
few imp ones are:
1)Light – The source of light for photosynthesis is sunlight. Light varies in intensity, quality
(wavelength) and duration. Rate of photosynthesis increases with the increase in light
intensity but upto a certain limit after which it becomes constant or has inhibitory effect
(photooxidation of constituents). Long duration of light conditions are good for
photosynthesis. Maximum photosynthesis occurs in blue and red light.
2)Carbon Dioxide – Rate of photosynthesis increases with increase in concentration of CO2
but very high concentration of CO2 inhibits photosynthesis.
3)Temperature – The rate of photosynthesis increases by increase in temp upto 40 oC.Above
this temp there is decrease in rate of photosynthesis.
4)Water – Water rarely acts as a limiting factor for photosynthesis as less than1% is absorbed
by the plant for photosynthesis.

HETEROTROPHIC MODE OF NUTRITION

Heterotrophic Nutrition is a kind of nutrition in which the organisms derive energy from the
intake and digestion of the organic substances prepared by autotrophs and other organic
sources. Heterotrophic mode of nutrition is divided into three types:
 Saprophytic nutrition – It refers to a kind of nutrition in which the organisms derive
their nutrients from dead and decaying organic matter like rotten leaves, house hold
waste etc. Eg Fungi (yeast, mucor, mushroom etc) and bacteria.
 Parasitc nutrition – It is a type of nutrition in which the organisms ( or parasites)
derives their nutrients or food from other living organisms. The organism that
supports or provide support is called as host. Eg several fungi, bacteria some
flowering plants like cuscuta and some animals like plasmodium, fasciola etc.
 Holozoic nutrition – In this type of nutrition the organism take in solid food and
break it down in the body to get energy. They take in food through the mouth by the
process of ingestion, the food is broken down into smaller molecules by digestion
they are then absorbed and utilized by the process of absorbtion and assimilation.

Nutrition In Amoeba
 Amoeba is an aquatic protozoan animal which lives in bottom of fresh water pools
and streams. It feeds on microscopic animals (protozoans) , bacteria, decaying food
particles, and microscopic plants. As it does not have any mouth for taking in food the
process of obtaining food is called as phagocytosis. It involves four steps:
• Ingestion-When Amoeba comes in contact with food and send out pseudopodia
which engulf the prey by forming a food cup.
• Digestion- When tip of encircling psuedopodia touch each other a food vacuole is
formed where digestive enzyme act to digest food.
• Assimilation – The digested food is absorbed and assimilated in the cytoplasm
• Egestion- The undigested food is moved to surface of amoeba cell and thrown out by
rupture of cell memberane.

NUTRITION IN HUMAN BEINGS

Human beings are heterotrophic omnivorous organisms. They obtain their food for enery
from plants, animals and their products by holozoic mode of nutrition. The essential
components of human diet are Water, Carbohydrate, Proteins, Fats, Minerals and Vitamins.
These components cannot be used in their original form by the body because they are too
complex to be directly utilized and also some of them are insoluble in water so cannot be
absorbed.
These complex and insoluble food substances have to be broken down into simple and
soluble forms so that they can be utilised by the body. This process is called Digestion and is
performed by a set of organs that constitute the digestive system. The digestive system
consists of the alimentary canal and glands which produce enzymes which breaks down food
into smaller molecules. The main organs of the digestive system are mouth, oesophagus,
stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus. The main glands are salivary glands,
gastric glands, liver, pancreas and intestinal glands.

PARTS OF ALIMENTARY CANAL

The alimentary canal is a long tube with muscular walls, glandular epithelia lining and with
varying diameter. It extends from the mouth to the anal opening. The alimentary canal
consists of various organs:-
 • Mouth & Buccal Cavity - Mouth is the uppermost opening of the human digestive
system which gives passage for ingestion of food. It leads to Buccal cavity, which has
tongue and teeth . The teeths (32) namely are incisors, canines, premolars and molars
which help in chewing and grinding of food. The tongue help in ingestion of food,
mixing of food with salivary juice and pushing down of food. The buccal cavity also
has salivary glands which secrete saliva. The saliva contains salivary amylase and
mucus which help in digestion of food.
• Pharynx – It is a long funnel- shaped vertical canal which serves as a passage way for
the food from the buccal cavity to the oesophagus.
• Oesophagus- It is a long, narrow muscular tube which leads to stomach. It exhibits
peristaltic movement i.e. contraction and relaxation which pushes the food in the
digestive tract.
• Stomach – Oesophagus leads to stomach where food is stored and partly digested.
• Small Intestine- It is a convoluted tube and differentiated into three region
duodenum, jejunum and ileum whose inner surface is folded to form villi which
absorb product of digestion. In the small intestine the food get digested with the help
of various digestive juices secreted by liver and pancreas in the intestinal wall. It is
the site of complete digestion and absorption of food.
• Large intestine- Shorter and wider than small intestine and also made of three parts
caecum (Ascending, transverse and descending), colon and rectum which open into
anus.

Glands of Digestive System

• Salivary Gland - It secretes the first digestive juice called saliva which contain
amylase enzyme.
• Gastric Gland – These are tubular gland which lie in the mucus membrane of
stomach. They secrete gastric juice which contain HCL, Mucus and Pepsin enzyme.
• Liver – It is the largest gland in humans. It produces Bile juices which flows out of
liver through bile duct and open into duodenum.
• Pancreas - Present between loops of duodenum, It secretes Pancreatic juice which
contain enzymes like trypsin, amylase and Lipase and poured into duodenum through
duct.
 • Intestinal Gland- Present in wall of ileum and produces amylolytic, Lipolytic and
proteolytic enzyme like Peptidase, Lipase, Maltase, Sucrase, Lactase etc.

PHYSIOLOGY OF DIGESTION
The process of Digestion can be summarized as :
1. Ingestion- It is intake of food and mouth or Buccal cavity is a special organ for ingestion
of food.

2. Digestion- It is process of conversion of large complex insoluble molecule to small simple

soluble molecule. Digestion starts from mouth and continues till the ileum of small intestine.

3. Absorbtion and assimilation- All the digested food is absorbed in the ileum.

4. Egestion – It is the process of elimination of undigested food through the anus.

Ingestion and Digestion

 In the mouth :-The mouth cavity contain teeth, tongue and salivary gland. The food
is broken down into smaller particles by the teeth and mixed with saliva from the
salivary glands by the help of tongue. Saliva contains the enzyme salivary amylase
which converts starch into maltose. The masticated and partially digested food is then
rounded off in a form of small ball called as bolus with the help of tongue and is
passed through the oesophagus or food pipe or gullet into the stomach by the
peristaltic movements of the oesophagus Then the food passes through the
oesophagus into the stomach.

 In the stomach:- The gastric glands produce gastric juice which contains the enzyme
pepsin, hydrochloric acid and mucous. Pepsin breaks down proteins into peptone and
proteoses. Hydrochloric acid makes the medium acidic and helps in the action of
pepsin and also destroy bacteria present in food. Mucous protects the walls of the
stomach from the action of the acid. This partially digested food is called chyme.Then
the food passes into the small intestine.

 In the Small Intestine-

 It is the site of complete digestion of carbohydrate protein and fats. In the upper part
of the small intestine called duodenum the food (Chyme) is mixed with bile from
liver and pancreatic juice from the pancreas.
 Bile is alkaline and makes acidic food coming from stomach alkaline so that
pancreatic enzymes can act upon it and also brings about emulsification of fat that is
breaks down fats into smaller globules so that lipase enzyme can easily act upon it.
 Pancreatic juice contains the enzymes trypsin and lipase and amylase. Trypsin
breaks down proteins into peptone and proteases, lipase breaks down fats into fatty
acid and glycerol and amylase acts on starch to form maltose.
  Intestinal Juice are secreted by the glands present in ileum. Intestinal juice contain
various enzyme that bring about the complete digestion of carbohydrate to glucose,
protein to amino acids and lipids to fatty acid and glycerol.

Absorption and Egestion

 The walls of the small intestine has several finger like projections called villi having
blood vessels. It helps to increase the surface area for the absorption of digested food.
The digested food is absorbed by the blood and transported to all cells in the body.
 Then the undigested food passes into the large intestine. In the large intestine water
is absorbed and the waste material is removed through the anus.

SUMMARY OF DIGESTION IN HUMAN BEINGS