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CLASS: X CBSE & NTSE (2021-22) NAME: ……….………………….

SUBJECT: SCIENCE (BIOLOGY)
CHAPTER: LIFE PROCESSES (PART-I, NUTRITION)

All the processes such as nutrition, respiration, circulation, excretion etc. that are necessary for the survival of
the living organisms are known as life processes. OR

The basic functions performed by organisms to maintain their life on this Earth are called life
processes.

Basic life processes common to all living organisms are:

Basic life processes Function

Taking of food inside the body and converting it into

Nutrition
smaller molecules which can be absorbed by the body.

The process which releases energy from the food

Respiration
absorbed by the body.

The process in which a substance absorbed or made in

Transport
one part of the body is moved to other parts of the body.

The process in which the waste materials produced in

Excretion
the cells of the body are removed from the body.

A process which helps the living organisms to survive in

Control and coordination
the changing environment around them.
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The process involves the changes from a smaller

Growth
organism to a big organism.

The organism either moves from one place to another or

Movement
moves its body parts.

The process involves the making of more organisms

Reproduction
form the existing once.

NUTRITION:
1. Autotrophic Nutrition
• It is the mode of nutrition in which organisms synthesise their own food from simple inorganic
substances such as water and carbon dioxide.
• Green plants are autotrophs. They synthesise food by the process of photosynthesis.
• Photosynthesis is a physiological process by which plant cells containing chlorophyll produce food
in the form of carbohydrates using carbon dioxide, water and light energy. Oxygen is released as a
by-product of this process.
• Chlorophyll is the green pigment found in green plants.
• Chlorophyll is present in chloroplasts.
• Chloroplast is a membrane-bound oval cell organelle.
• It is enclosed by a double membrane. Its interior contains closely packed flattened sacs called
thylakoids. Chlorophyll is present in the thylakoids.
• Thylakoids are arranged in piles called grana lying in a colourless ground substance called stroma.
• Cells present in the spongy mesophyll layer and the palisade layer contain chloroplasts; therefore,
they are the site of photosynthesis.

Chloroplast
Stomata
• Stomata are minute openings present in the epidermal layers of leaves.
• They are responsible for gas exchange during photosynthesis.
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Process of Photosynthesis:
• The palisade layer is the centre for photosynthesis. Light energy is trapped in the chlorophyll of the
mesophyll cells in the palisade layer of leaves.
• The chemical equation for photosynthesis is

Chlorophyll, light, carbon dioxide and water are necessary for photosynthesis.
2. Heterotrophic Nutrition:
• It is the mode of nutrition of organisms which cannot synthesise their own food, but they are
dependent on other organisms for food.
• Organisms exhibiting heterotrophic nutrition are called heterotrophs.
Examples: yeasts, fungi, bacteria, human beings, tiger, monkey, birds, lion, cow etc.
Types of Heterotrophic Nutrition:
• Saprotrophic Nutrition: Organisms obtain their food from dead, decaying plants and animals.
Example: Mushrooms
• Parasitic Nutrition: Organisms obtain their food from the bodies of other living organisms. Parasites
usually harm the host while obtaining their food.
Example: Leech
• Holozoic Nutrition: It is a mode of nutrition in which organisms feed on solid food. The food is
complex organic material which when ingested is broken down into simple inorganic substances by
the process of digestion.
Example: Humans
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Nutrition in Amoeba:

Nutrition in Paramecium
• The food is taken in at a specific spot, i.e. the oral groove.
• The food is brought close to the oral groove by the cilia present on the body surface of paramecium.
Nutrition in Human Beings:

The alimentary canal is the long tube extending from the mouth to the anus.
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• Food is chewed and mixed with saliva in the mouth with the help of tongue and teeth.
• Saliva which contains salivary amylase acts on the starch present in food.
• Saliva is secreted by 3 pairs of salivary glands.
• The food is converted into smaller particles and made smooth by mixing it with mucus and saliva. It
is now called bolus.
• The bolus moves down through the oesophagus by peristaltic movements of the oesophageal wall.
• Once the bolus reaches the stomach, it is acted upon by HCl, gastric juices and pepsin.
• HCl creates an acidic medium for the action of pepsin.
• Mucus prevents the lining of the stomach wall from the acidic environment.
• Pepsin converts proteins into peptides.
• The exit of food from the stomach is regulated by a sphincter muscle called the pyloric sphincter or
pylorus which releases small amounts of partially digested food into the small intestine.
• The small intestine is a very long tube found in the abdomen. It is about 6–7 metre in length and
about 2.5–3 cm wide.
• Bile and pancreatic juices are secreted into the small intestine.
• Bile acts on the fat molecules and breaks them into small flat droplets. This eases the action of lipase
on the fats. This process is called emulsification.
• Pancreatic juices contain different enzymes such as trypsin, lipase, maltase, peptidases, sucrose,
which act on the food to convert it into simpler units of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
• Intestinal glands also secrete intestinal juices which also contain enzymes, which act on the
carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
• The digested food is then absorbed by the walls of the small intestine.
• Presence of brush-like borders called microvilli increase the surface area for absorption.
• The unabsorbed food is sent to the large intestine where water is absorbed into the blood stream.
• The left over material in the large intestine is sent to the rectum.
• It is excreted out through the anus.
• The opening of the anus is controlled by the anal sphincters.