LIFE

PROCESSES

CLASS 10 Curated and

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The basic functions performed by living
organisms to maintain their life on earth
are called LIFE PROCESSES.

Organisms obtain energy from the food they eat.

An organism obtains nutrients from surroundings
and uses it as a source of energy or for the
biosynthesis of its body constituents.
MODES OF NUTRITION

Autotrophic
Heterotrophic
1. Synthesize their own food 1. Take in organic food.
from inorganic substances.
2.They contain green 2. They depend on
pigment called CHLOROPHYLL autotrophs and other
which traps sunlight energy heterotrophs for food.
to make food.
3. Example- green plants, 3. Example- all animals,
autotrophic bacteria, etc. most bacteria, fungi,
non-green plants, etc.
SAPROTROPHIC
Types of
Heterotrophic PARASITIC
Nutrition
HOLOZOIC
 SAPROTROPHIC

• Organism obtains food from dead and decaying

organic matter of dead plants and animals.
• Example- Fungi (like bread moulds,mushrooms,yeast)
and many bacteria.
PARASITIC
• Organism obtains food from the body of another
living organism (called its host) without killing it.
• Example- Fungi, bacteria, a few plants like Cuscuta
(Amarbel), etc.
HOLOZOIC
• Organisms take in the complex organic food by
ingestion, then the food is digested and finally
absorbed into the body cells of the organism.
• Example- most animals, human beings, etc.
 PHOTOSYNTHESIS

Definition- Theprocess by which green plants

make their own food from carbon dioxide and
water by using sunlight energy in the presence
by chlorophyll.
Steps of PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Absorption of sunlight energy by chlorophyll
Conversion of light energy into chemical energy
and splitting up of water into hydrogen and
oxygen by light energy.
Reduction of CO2 by hydrogen to form
carbohydrates.
➢Conditions necessary for photosynthesis-
1. Sunlight 3. Carbon dioxide
2. Chlorophyll 4. Water
 Site of Photosynthesis

ta

are the sites of photosynthesis in

a cell of the leaf. In the cross-section of a leaf,
chloroplasts are seen as numerous disc-like organelles
in the photosynthetic cells of the palisade tissue just
below the upper epidermis.

Photosynthetic Thousands of Hundreds of

(or mesophyll) photosynthetic tiny
cell contain cells contain chloroplasts
Carbon dioxide needed enters from air into the leaf
through stomata present in the surface.Then, diffuses
into mesophyll cells and reaches the chloroplasts.
Water is carried to the leaf by xylem vessels, passes
into mesophyll cells by diffusion and reaches the
chloroplasts.
GROUPS OF ANIMALS
HERBIVORES
1. Eat plants only.
2. Example- Cow, Goat, Sheep, etc.
CARNIVORES
1. Eat animals only.
2. Example- Lion, Tiger, Vulture, etc.
OMNIVORES
1. Eat both plants and animals.
2. Example- Dog, Human beings, Crow, etc.
etc.
STEPS OF NUTRITION

Ingestion Digestion Absorption Assimilation Egestion

Ingestion- the process of taking food into the body.
Digestion- the process in which food containing large,
insoluble molecules is broken down into small, water
soluble molecules (which can be absorbed by the body).
Absorption- the process in which the digested food
passes through the intestinal wall into the blood
stream.
Assimilation- the process in which absorbed food is
taken in by body cells and used for energy, growth
and repair.
Egestion- the process of removal of undigested food
from the body.
NUTRITION IN AMOEBA
1. AMOEBA has no fixed place or mouth of ingestion.
2. When a food particle comes near amoeba, it forms
temporary finger like projections (called
PSEUDOPODIA) to ingest the food.
3. The food is engulfed with a little surrounding water
to form a food vacuole inside the body.
4. The digestive enzymes from the surrounding
cytoplasm into the food vacuole, break down the food
into small and soluble molecules by chemical reactions.
5. The digested food is directly absorbed into the
cytoplasm by diffusion.
NOTE- Amoeba is small. It consists of only a single
cell. It does not require a blood system to carry the
digested food.
6. The absorbed food is assimilated in the body and
Amoeba grows.
7. For egestion, the cell membrane ruptures at any
place and the undigested food is thrown out.
NOTE- Paramecium ingests the food with the help of
hair-like structures called CILIA on its surface.
 Nutrition in HUMAN BEINGS

1. Food is ingested through mouth.

2.Digestion begins in the mouth itself. Mouth cavity
contains teeth, tongue, salivary glands.
3.The teeth cut food into small pieces, chew and grind
it. Salivary glands produce saliva which contain
salivary enzymes that digest the starch present in
food into sugar.
 4. The slightly digested food passes in the mouth, is
swallowed by tongue and goes to the food pipe (or
OESOPHAGUS).
5. Oesophagus carries food to the stomach.
6. The walls of the oesophagus have muscles which
contract and relax alternately. This movement is
called PERISTALTIC MOVEMENT. (IMP)
7. Food is churned in stomach for about 3 hours and
broken down into smaller pieces to form a semi-solid
paste. The stomach contains gastric juice.
8. Gastric Juice
Hydrochloric Enzyme
Acid Pepsin
Mucus
:Provides acidic :digests proteins :protects stomach
medium for pepsin to present in food from secretions
act. to form smaller of hydrochloric
:kills the bacteria
that enters with food. molecules. acid else it can
erode the stomach
:prevents fermentation
of food. and cause ulcers.
9. Food then goes to the small intestine. The exit of food from
the stomach is regulated by a ‘SPHINCTER MUSCLE’.
10. Small intestine is very long but it is called ‘SMALL’ as it
is very narrow.
 11. Small intestine receives secretions of 2 glands.

LIVER PANCREAS
• Secreates bile juice. • Large gland parallel to and
• Bile is alkaline beneath the stomach.
• Secreates pancreatic juice
• Contains salts that which contains digestive
emulsify/ break fats enzymes- amylase, trypsin,
• Makes acidic food coming lipase.
from stomach alkaline so that • Amylase breaks starch,
pancreatic enzymes can trypsin digests proteins and
act on it. lipase breaks emulsified fats.
• Break fats into small globules.
11. Walls of small intestine secrete intestinal juice that
contains a number of enzymes for further digestion
of complex carbohydrates into glucose, proteins into
amino acids and fats into fatty acids.
12. SMALL INTESTINE is the main region for
absorption of digested food. The inner surface has
millions of tiny, finger-like projections called VILLI
which provide a large surface area for absorption.
13. Blood carries digested food to all parts of body
where it is used for energy, growth and repair.
 14. The unused digested food is stored in the liver in
the form of a carbohydrate called ‘GLYCOGEN’
which can be used as a source of energy whenever
required.
15. The undigested food passes to a wider tube called
Large Intestine. It is called ‘large’ as it is wider.
16. The walls of large intestine absorb most water
from the undigested food.
17. The last part of large intestine is called ‘Rectum’
which stores the undigested food until it is passed out
from the body through ANUS as ‘faeces’ or ‘stool’.

RESPIRATION
Definition-The process of releasing energy from food
is called Respiration. It takes place inside the cells of
the body.
Respiration is essential for life as it provides energy
for carrying out the life processes that keep us alive.
 Breathing Respiration
1. The mechanism by which 1. It includes breathing as
organism take in oxygen well as oxidation of food in
and release carbon dioxide. the cells to release energy.
2. It is a physical process. 2.It involves the biochemical
process of oxidation of food.
3. Lungs take part. 3.Lungs and mitochondria
take part.
Energy released during respiration is stored in the form
of ATP molecules in the cells of the body.
ATP is made from ADP and inorganic phosphate.

ATP- Adenosine Tri Phosphate

ADP- Adenosine Di Phosphate

Types of RESPIRATION
 1. AEROBIC RESPIRATION
• The respiration which uses oxygen.
• ‘Aerobic’ means ‘with air’.
• Glucose (food) is completely broken down into carbon
dioxide and water by oxidation.
• Produces a considerable amount of energy.
glycolysis Qxygen Kreb’s cycle
Glucose Pyruvate 6C02 + 6H2O + 38ATP
(1 molecule) in cytoplasm (2 molecules)
in mitochondria
2. ANAEROBIC RESPIRATION
• The respiration which takes place without oxygen.
• ‘Anaerobic’ means ‘without air’.
• Micro-organisms like yeast break down glucose (food)
into ethanol and carbon dioxide, and release energy.
in the absence of oxygen
glycolysis Pyruvate
Glucose 2C2H5OH + 2CO2 +
in cytoplasm (2 molecules)
(1 molecule) 2 ATP
Fermentation
(by yeast)
• In case of muscle cells, oxygen gets used up faster
and cannot be supplied by blood, when we do vigorous
physical exercise.
• Glucose is converted into lactic acid and a small amount
of energy is released.
 glycolysis in the absence of oxygen
Glucose in cytoplasm Pyruvate 2 Lactic acid +
(1 molecule) (2 molecules)
in Muscle cells. 2 ATP
• The sudden build up of lactic acid in our muscles during
vigorous physical exercise, can cause muscle ‘cramps’.
Remedy- Hot water bath/ massage improves the blood
circulation in the body. Due to improved blood flow, the
supply of oxygen to the muscles increases.
This oxygen breaks the lactic acid into carbon dioxide
and water, and gives relief from cramps.
RESPIRATION in
Plants Animals
1. All parts respire 1. Respire as a single unit.
individually.
2. Little transport of 2. Respiratory gases are
respiratory gases from usually transported over
one part to other. long distances in the body.
3. Occurs at a slow rate. 3. Occurs at a much faster
rate.
Photosynthesis- makes food using CO2, H2O, energy and
releases oxygen.
Respiration- breaks down food using oxygen and releases
CO2, H20 and energy.
 Respiration in ROOTS
Air (between particles of soil) Roots
(root hair are in direct
contact with the soil)
CO2 Oxygen
Cells of the plant
Respiration in STEMS
O2
Air Stomata Stems

CO2
The stems of woody plants and trees do not have stomata
In that case, LENTICELS play the role of stomata.
Respiration in LEAVES
• The exchange of respiratory gases in leaves takes place
through tiny pores called STOMATA.
During day time, photosynthesis occurs, oxygen is produced.
Leaves respire some of it and rest diffuses out into the
air. The CO2 released during respiration is used up in
photosynthesis.
At night time, when no photosynthesis occurs, O2 diffuses
in and CO2 diffuses out simply.
 Large surface area
Common to get enough O2
features Thin walls for
among easy diffusion.
respiratory Rich blood supply
for transporting
organs- gases.

Ques. Why the rate of breathing in aquatic animals is

much faster than in terrestrial animals?
Ans. The amount of dissolved oxygen in water is low as
compared to the amount of oxygen in the air. Thus,
the rate of breathing in aquatic animals is much faster
than in terrestrial animals. A faster rate provides
more oxygen to the aquatic animals.
Important points-
• Terrestrial animals have an advantage over aquatic
animals as they live in an oxygen-rich atmosphere.
• Simple diffusion of CO2 and 02 takes place in animals
like Amoeba, Paramecium and Planaria.
• Diffusion is insufficient to meet the O2 requirements
of large multicellular organisms (like humans) as the
volume of body is so big that oxygen cannot diffuse
quickly into all the cells.
 Respiration in FISH

The fish has special organs of breathing called GILLS.

Water enters the mouth and passes over the gills.
Gills extract oxygen from the water, which is then
absorbed by the blood and carried to all parts of the
body.
The CO2 produced by respiration is brought back by blood
to the gills for expelling out.

Note- A fish taken out from water dies soon even though
it has large amount of oxygen around it. This is because it
has gills that can only extract dissolved oxygen present in
water.
 Respiration in HUMANS

• The human respiratory system begins from Nose

that has two holes called Nostrils. The passage in
the nose behind the nostrils is called Nasal Passage.
• The air enters from the nostrils.
• The nasal passage is separated from the mouth
cavity (also known as buccal/oral cavity) by a hard,
bony plate so that we can breathe in air even when
we are eating food.
• Nasal passage is lined with fine hair and mucus to
clean the air from the dust particles and other
impurities.
• The part of throat between the mouth and wind
pipe is called Pharynx.
• The Trachea is a tube commonly Nasal Passage
known as Wind Pipe.
• Trachea does not collapse even
when there is no air in it. This Pharynx
is because it is supported by
rings of soft bones called
Cartilage. Trachea
• Upper end of trachea is called
has a voice box called Larynx.
• The trachea runs down the neck and divides into 2
smaller tubes called ‘Bronchi’ which are connected
to the lungs.
• Lungs lie in the chest/ thoracic cavity which is
separated from the abdominal cavity by a muscular
partition called Diaphragm.
• Two membranes called Pleura cover the lungs. The
lungs are enclosed in a ‘ribcage’ made of bones
called ‘ribs’.
• Each bronchus divides in the lungs to form smaller
tubes called ‘Bronchioles’ that have tiny air sacs
called ‘Alveoli’ at their ends.
• The walls of alveoli are very thin and surrounded
by blood capillaries.
• Gaseous exchange takes place in the alveoli. There
are millions of alveoli in the lungs providing large
surface area for maximizing the exchange of
gases.

ALVEOLI

• When we breathe in air, the muscles and the

diaphragm attached to the ribs contract due to which
the chest cavity expands. The expansion movement
increases the volume inside the chest cavity and air
from outside (being at higher pressure) rushes into
lungs through nostrils, trachea and bronchi. (Imp)
• In this way, the alveoli get filled with air containing
oxygen. The blood from the blood capillaries
(surrounding the alveoli) obtain oxygen by diffusion
and it takes the oxygen to all parts of the body.
 Transport system in Plants

Xylem Phloem

XYLEM- 1. A non-living, long tube that runs like a

drainpipe through the plant .
2. Provide strength to plants and keep them
upright. (due to presence of lignin).
3. Have pits in their cell walls.
PHLOEM- 1. Made up of many cells joined end to end
to form long tubes. The end walls of the cells form
sieve plates.
2. Sieve tubes do not have lignin.
 Tracheid
• Tracheids are long, thin and
spindle shaped cells.
• They have pits in their thick
cells walls.
• Water flows from one tracheid to another
through these pits.
• They are dead cells with lignified walls.
• They do not have open walls so they do not form
vessels.
Transport of water and minerals in a plant

The roots of a plant have hairs called root hairs.

 Leaves
Soil
Stem Xylem
Root hair Vessels
Root Xylem
Each cell Vessels
• In the above process, there is flow of water (and
the dissolved minerals).
• Function of root hairs: to absorb water and
minerals from the soil.
• Water passes from soil to root xylem through the
Epidermis, Root Cortex, Endodermis and reach
the root xylem.
• The branched xylem vessels enter from the petiole
(stalk of the leaf) and spread into each and
every part of the leaf.
TRANSPIRATION
• The evaporation of water
from the leaves in plants is
called TRANSPIRATION.
• Leaves have tiny pores on
their surface called
stomata.
• Water from xylem vessels travels to the cells by
osmosis to make up the loss of water, thus reducing
the effective pressure at the top of xylem vessels,
so that water flows up to them.
• Transpiration helps in upward movement of water
and minerals.
Transportation of Food

• The transport of food from the leaves to other

parts of the plant is called TRANLOCATION.
Phloem translocates the food made in the leaves.
• The movement of food materials(and other
substances like hormones) through phloem depends
on the action of living cells called sieve tubes.
• Sugar made in the leaves is loaded unto sieve tubes
of phloem tissue by using energy from ATP.
• Water then enters into sieve tubes containing
sugar by osmosis. Thus, the pressure in the phloem
tissue rises.
• The high pressure moves the food to all the parts
of the plant having less pressure in their tissues.
• Thus, phloem is able to transport food as per the
needs of the plant.
Transportation in HUMANS
Components of Blood

PLASMA
WBCs RBCs
PLATELETS
 Plasma
The liquid (or fluid) part of the blood.
A colourless liquid.
Contains 90% water.
Contains dissolved substances like digested food,
common salt, proteins, waste products (like carbon
dioxide and urea) and hormones.
Red Blood Corpuscles (RBCs)

Red in colour due to presence of a red pigment

called HAEMOGLOBIN.
RBCs are carriers of oxygen. lungs
Haemoglobin carries oxygen from to and
carbon dioxide from to .
body tissues
RBCs are circular in shape and do not have a
nuclei.
The loss of blood from our
body can be made up very
quickly, within a day, because
RBCs are made very fast in
our bone marrow.
 White Blood Cells (WBCs)

• White blood cells protect us against

diseases as they fight against germs
(pathogens) and other foreign bodies.
• WBCs make chemicals known as ‘anti-bodies’ to
fight against infection.
• Some WBCs can eat up the germs (like bacteria)
which can cause diseases.
• WBCs are much less in quantity in the blood as
compared to RBCs.
Platelets

• Platelets are tiny fragments

of special cells formed in the
bone marrow.
• They do not have any nuclei.
• They help in the coagulation of blood (or
clotting of blood) in a cut or a wound.
 Important functions of blood

• Blood carries O2 from lungs to different parts of

the body and CO2 from the body cells to the
lungs for breathing out.
• It carries digested food from the small intestine
to other parts of the body.
• It transports hormones from endocrine glands
to the required body organs.
• It carries urea (waste product)from liver to
the kidneys for the excretion of urine.
• It protects the body from diseases as the WBCs
kill the bacteria and germs that cause diseases.
• It regulates the body temperature as the blood
capillaries in our skin keep or body temp.
constant at about 37 C.
Composition of Human Circulatory System
• Heart - organ which pumps and receives the blood
• The blood vessels (or tubes) through which the
blood flows in the body. 3 types of blood vessels
are:- i. Arteries ii. Veins iii. Capillaries
 HUMAN CIRCULATOY SYSTEM
• The blood flows into the body through the
Arteries, Veins and Capillaries.
• Arteries are thick walled (as blood flowing
through them is under high pressure) blood vessels
which carry blood from heart to all parts of the
body.
• Capillaries are thin-walled and extremely narrow
blood vessels connecting arteries to veins.
• Various dissolved substances (like O2, food)
present in blood pass into the body through the
capillaries.
• At the same time waste substances (like CO2)
formed in the cells enter into the capillaries.
• Veins are thin walled blood vessels which carry
blood back to the heart.
• The main difference between an artery and a
vein is that an artery carries blood from the
heart to the body organs whereas veins carry
blood from the body organs to the heart. (IMP)
 Working of human heart

• When the muscles of al the four chambers of the

heart are relaxed, the pulmonary vein brings the
oxygenated blood from the lungs into the left
atrium of the heart.
• When the left atrium contracts, the oxygenated
blood id pushed into the left ventricle through the
valve.
• When the left ventricle contracts, the oxygenated
blood is forced into the main artery called ‘aorta.
The small arteries (arterioles) further branch
into capillaries.
• The main artery carries blood to all the parts of
the body like head, chest, arms, etc (except the
lungs).
• When the oxygenated blood passes through the
capillaries of the body organs, then it gives O2 to
the blood cells. At the same time, CO2 produced as a
waste material during respiration enters the blood.
• The deoxygenated blood from the body organs enter
into the main vein carries the deoxygenated blood to
the right atrium of the heart.
• When the right atrium contracts, deoxygenated
blood into the right ventricle through the valve.
• When the right ventricle contracts, the
deoxygenated blood is pumped into the lungs into the
pulmonary artery. In the lungs, deoxygenated blood
releases its CO2 and absorbs O2 from air.
• So the blood becomes oxygenated again. The
oxygenated blood is again sent to the left atrium of
the heart by pulmonary vein for the circulation of
the body.
• A circulatory system in which the blood travels
twice through the heart in one complete cycle of
the body is called double circulation.
1.The pathway of the blood from the heart to the
lungs and back to the heart is called pulmonary
circulation.
2.The pathway of blood from heart to the lungs
and back to the heart is called systemic
circulation.
• The animals like mammals and birds have 4
chambered heart. Amphibians and reptiles are
cold-blooded animals, they do not need energy to
maintain their body temperature. They have 3
chambered heart.
• In 4 chambered heart, left side and right side are
separated by Septum to prevent oxygenated blood
from mixing with deoxygenated blood.
• Such a separation allows a highly efficient supply of
oxygen to the body cells.
• All the animals having 4 chambered heart have
double circulation.
• Fish has a 2 chambered heart. They do not have
lungs. They have gills for the oxygenation of blood.
• The flow of blood in a fish is called Single Circulation.
LYMPHATIC SYSTEM

COMPONENTS

1. Lymph
2. Lymph capillaries
3. Lymph vessels
4. Lymph nodes (or
lymph glands)
• Lymph is a light yellow liquid somewhat similar in
composition to plasma. It is not red like blood as it
does not contain RBCs.
• It contains large protein molecules and digested
food (which comes into it from the tissue fluid
between the cells).
• It also contains germs from cells and fragments
of dead cells.
• It is another medium of circulation in the human
body.
• It flows only in one direction- from body tissues to
the heart.
Functions of LYMPH (or LYMPHATIC SYSTEM)

➢Takes part in nutritive process of the body.

➢Protects the body by killing the germs drained out
of the body tissues with the help of Lymphocytes.
➢Helps in removing the waste products like fragments
of dead cells, etc.
 EXCRETION
Definition-The process of removal of toxic/metabolic
wastes from the body of an organism is called excretion.
Excretion in PLANTS
Plants excrete as follows-
1.They get rid of gaseous waste products like O2 ,CO2
through stomata in the leaves and lenticels in stems.
2.They get rid of stored solid and liquid wastes by
shedding of leaves, peeling of bark, etc.
3. They also secrete wastes in the form of gums and
resins.
4.They excrete some of the waste substances into the
soil around them.
Excretion in ANIMALS
1.In Amoeba and other unicellular animals, the waste
material is removed by diffusion through the cell
membrane. The nitrogenous wastes (like ammonia) and
water are removed by contractile vacuole.
2.In earthworm, tabular structures called Nephridia
are excretory organs.
 Excretion in HUMANS

Human
Excretory
System-

• Every person has 2 kidneys. The blood in our body

constantly passes through the kidneys.
• The renal artery (or kidney artery) brings in
the dirty blood (containing waste substances) into
the kidneys.
• Function of kidneys is to remove the poisonous
substance urea, other waste salts and excess
water from the blood.
• Ureters are tubes that carry urine from kidneys
to urinary bladder (a bag-like structure that
stores urine).
• Urethra is a duct which takes urine from the
bladder for excretion.
Urinary
Kidneys Ureters Urethra
bladder

NEPHRON

• In humans, the microscopic and thin tubules called

Nephrons function as an excretory unit.
• The nephron has a cup-shaped bag at its upper end
called BOWMAN’S CAPSULE. The lower end of
bowman’s capsule is tube-shaped and is called a
TUBULE.
• The bowman’s capsule and the tubule together
make a nephron.
• One end of tubule is connected to bowman’s capsule
and the other is connected to a URINE-
COLLECTING DUCT.
• The bowman’s capsule contains a number of blood
capillaries which is called GLOMERULUS.
• One end of the glomerulus is attached to the renal
artery which brings the dirty blood.
• Other end of glomerulus comes out of bowman’s
capsule as a blood capillary, surrounds the tubule of
nephron and finally, joins a renal vein
• Glomerulus function- filtering the blood passing
through it. Only small molecules of molecules like
glucose, amino acids, salts, urea and water pass
through it.
• The remaining liquid goes to the urine collecting duct
for excretion in the form of urine.
Note-
1. Kidney filters 180 L of blood everyday but volume
of urine is very less as remaining filtrate is
reabsorbed by kidney tubules.
2. Sometimes, misfunctioning of kidney leads to
complete failure, allowing urea and other
substances to build up in the blood.
3. Remedy- kidney transplantation or DIALYSIS.

DIALYSIS-
The process of removing nitrogenous waste from the
body artificially with the help of artificial kidneys is
known as Dialysis.
 Important points
➢ At night, in the absence of transpiration, the
transport of water takes place due to root
pressure.
➢Plant cells change in shape due to osmotic entry/
exit of water and differential thickening.
➢ Safranin is a common biological stain used during
experiments.
➢Guard cells contain a nucleus and chloroplasts.
They perform 2 functions.
1. Opening and closing of stomata.
2. Exchange of gases and transpiration.
➢ The internal energy reserve in plants is starch
(a complex carbohydrate) and glycogen in
animals.
➢ The amount of water reabsorbed depends on the
amount of excess water and amount of dissolved
wastes to be excreted.
➢ EGESTION is the removal of undigested food
whereas EXCRETION is the removal of metabolic
wastes. (IMP)