Life Processes

What are Life Processes?

Life Processes: The processes which together perform the repair and maintenance job
inside a body are life processes. For Example Respiration (R), Excretion (E), Nutrition (N), and
Transportation (T) [RENT].
Nutrition: A process to transfer a source of energy from outside the body of the organism,
which we call food, to the inside, is called nutrition.
Respiration: The process of acquiring oxygen from outside the body, and using it in the
process of break-down of food sources for cellular needs, is called respiration.
Transportation: A system for carrying food and oxygen from one place to another in the
body.
Excretion: The waste by-products are needed to be removed from the body and discarded
outside by a process called excretion.
Nutrition
Autotrophs: Some organisms use simple food material obtained from inorganic sources in
the form of carbon dioxide and water. For example green plants and some bacteria.
Heterotrophs: Other organisms utilize complex substances. These complex substances have
to be broken down into simpler ones before they can be used for the upkeep and growth of
the body. To achieve this, organisms use bio-catalysts called enzymes. For example animals
and fungi.
Autotrophic Nutrition
 Carbon and energy requirements of the autotrophic organism are fulfilled by
photosynthesis.
 Photosynthesis: It is the process by which autotrophs take in substances from the
outside and convert them into stored forms of energy. This material is taken in the
form of carbon dioxide and water which is converted into carbohydrates in the
presence of sunlight and chlorophyll.
 The carbohydrates which are not used immediately are stored in the form of starch.
 Similarly, in our body, some of the energy derived from the food we eat is stored in
our body in the form of glycogen.

Raw Materials for Photosynthesis:

 Sunlight
 Chlorophyll: Sunlight absorbed by chloroplast
 CO2: Enters through stomata, and oxygen (O2) is released as a by-product through
stomata on the leaf.
 Water: Water + dissolved minerals like nitrogen, phosphorous etc., are taken up by
the roots from the soil.

How do raw materials for photosynthesis become available to the plant?

 Water comes from the soil, through the xylem tissue in roots and stems.
  Carbon dioxide comes in the leaves through stomata.

Site of Photosynthesis: Chloroplast in the leaf. Chloroplast contains chlorophyll (green

pigment)

 Events Occurring during Photosynthesis:

1. Absorption of light energy by chlorophyll.
2. Conversion of light energy to chemical energy.
3. Splitting of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.
4. Reduction of carbon dioxide to carbohydrates.
 Chlorophyll is essential for photosynthesis.
 On Iodine test Blue-black color is obtained on that part of the leaf where
photosynthesis occurs.
 How the plant obtains carbon dioxide?
 Massive amounts of gaseous exchange take place in the leaves through stomatal
pores for the purpose of photosynthesis.
 The exchange of gases occurs across the surface of stems, roots, and leaves as
well.
 Since large amounts of water can also be lost through these stomata, the plant
closes these pores when it does not need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.
 The opening and closing of the pore are a function of the guard cells. The guard
cells swell when water flows into them, causing the stomatal pore to open.
Similarly, the pore closes if the guard cells shrink.
 Structure of Stomata

Opening and closing of stomatal pores:

 The opening and closing of stomatal pores are controlled by the turgidity of guard
cells.
 When guard cells uptake water from surrounding cells, they swell to become a turgid
body, which enlarges the pore in between (Stomatal Opening).
 While, when water is released, they become flaccid shrinking to close the pore
(Stomatal Closing).
Main Events/ Mechanism of Photosynthesis:

 Absorption of light energy by chlorophyll.

 Conversion of light energy into chemical energy + splitting (breaking) of water into
hydrogen and oxygen.
 Reduction of CO2 to carbohydrates.
 Sunlight activates chlorophyll, which leads to splitting of the water molecule.
 Hydrogen reduces CO2 and synthesises glucose ( reduction of CO2 into carbohydrates)
 Oxygen is the by-product of photosynthesis.
 Carbohydrate is subsequently converted into starch and is stored in leaves and other
storage parts.
 The splitting of water molecules is a part of the light reaction.

All these events can be categorised into 2main phases.

 Light Phase
 Dark Phase

Dark Reaction

Light Reaction

 The chemical equation in the light reaction of photosynthesis is:

2H2O + 2NADP+ + 3ADP + 3Pi → O2 + 2NADPH + 3ATP
 The chemical equation in the dark phase reaction of photosynthesis is:

ATP + NADPH + CO2 → ADP + NADP + Glucose

In dark reaction desert plants take up carbon dioxide at night and prepare an
intermediate which is acted upon by the energy absorbed by the chlorophyll during the
day.

Factors affecting photosynthesis:

 light intensity
 carbon dioxide concentration
 temperature
 Water
  Oxygen

Significance/Importance of photosynthesis

 Green plants are the main producers of food in the ecosystem. All other organisms
directly or indirectly depend on green plants for food and photosynthesis helps in
providing food supply to the living organism
 Convert solar energy into chemical energy and then store that chemical energy for
future use
 The process of photosynthesis also helps in maintaining the balance of carbon dioxide
and oxygen in the air

 Experimental setup to prove that Carbon dioxide is essential for photosynthesis:

 KOH is used to absorb Carbon dioxide inside the jar.

 How other materials are obtained?

 Water is taken from the soil.
 Other materials like nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium are taken up
from the soil.
 Nitrogen is taken up in the form of inorganic nitrates or nitrites. Or it is taken up
as organic compounds which have been prepared by bacteria from atmospheric
nitrogen.

 and oxygen in the air

Nutrition in Animals:
 Animals are Heterotrophs
 Depend on Plants and others for their food
 Types of Parasitic Nutrition

Endo-parasitic Nutrition Exo-parasitic Nutrition

How to Unicellular/ Single celled Organisms obtain their Nutrition

Unicellular/ Single celled Organisms- Food is taken up through the entire body surface. Eg.
 Amoeba
 Paramecium
Holozoic Nutrition in Amoeba
Amoeba exhibits holozoic nutrition. The process takes place in the following steps:

 Ingestion-The amoeba projects its pseudopodia and encircles the food. It then
engulfs the food by the process of phagocytosis.
 Digestion-The food vacuoles of amoeba are rich in digestive enzymes, which help
break the food into simpler substances. This process is known as digestion.
 Absorption-The digested food is absorbed and diffuses into the cytoplasm leaving
behind the undigested materials. This absorbed food is utilised to produce energy for
the growth and development of the cell.
 Egestion-The undigested food material is ejected out by the rupturing of the cell
membrane.
 Cilia helps to take in the food & move food to the

specific spot.

Heterotrophic Nutrition
 Saprophytic: Some organisms break down the food material outside the body and
then absorb it. Examples are fungi like bread moulds, yeast, and mushrooms.
 Holozoic: Others take in whole material and break it down inside their bodies.
 Parasitic: Some other organisms derive nutrition from plants or animals without
killing them. This parasitic nutritive strategy is used by a wide variety of organisms
like cuscuta (amar-bel), ticks, lice, leeches, and tape-worms.
Nutrition in Human Beings

Nutrition in Human Beings

Structure of the Human Digestive System:
The human digestive system comprises of the alimentary canal and associated digestive
glands.

 Alimentary Canal: It comprises of mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine and

large intestine.
 Associated Glands: Main associated glands are

 Salivary gland
 Gastric Glands
 Liver
 Pancreas
 The alimentary canal is basically a long tube extending from the mouth to the anus.
 Saliva is secreted by the salivary glands.
 The saliva contains an enzyme called salivary amylase that breaks down starch which
is a complex molecule to give simple sugar.
 The lining of the canal has muscles that contract rhythmically in order to push the
food forward. These peristaltic movements occur all along the gut.
 Digestion in the stomach:
 Gastric glands present in the wall of the stomach release hydrochloric acid, an
enzyme called pepsin, and mucus.
 The hydrochloric acid creates an acidic medium that facilitates the action of the
enzyme pepsin.
 The mucus protects the inner lining of the stomach from the action of the acid
under normal conditions.
 Pepsin is a protein-digesting enzyme.
 The exit of food from the stomach is regulated by a sphincter muscle which releases
it in small amounts into the small intestine.
 Length of small intestine:
 Herbivores eating grass need a longer small intestine to allow the cellulose to be
digested.
 Meat is easier to digest, hence carnivores like tigers have shorter small
intestines.
 The small intestine is the site of the complete digestion of carbohydrates, proteins,
and fats.
 It receives the secretions of the liver and pancreas for this purpose.
 The function of Bile juice from the liver:
 The bile salts emulsify fat by acting on large fat globules to break them into
smaller globules. This increases the efficiency of pancreatic enzymes.
  The food entering the small intestine is acidic. It is made alkaline by the action of
bile juice so as to facilitate the action of pancreatic enzymes.
 The function of pancreatic juice from the pancreas:
 Pancreatic juice contains enzymes like
 trypsin for digesting proteins and
 lipase for breaking down emulsified fats.
 The walls of the small intestine contain glands that secrete intestinal juice.
 The enzymes present in it finally convert the
 proteins to amino acids,
 complex carbohydrates into glucose and
 fats into fatty acids and glycerol.
 The inner lining of the small intestine has numerous finger-like projections called
villi.
 Functions of Villi:
 Increases the surface area for absorption.
 The villi are richly supplied with blood vessels that take the absorbed food to
each and every cell of the body.
 The unabsorbed food is sent into the large intestine where its wall absorbs more
water from this material.
Respiration

 The food material taken in during the process of nutrition is used in cells to provide
energy for various life processes.
 Some use oxygen to break down glucose completely into carbon dioxide and water.
 Some use other pathways that do not involve oxygen.
 In all cases, the first step is the breakdown of glucose, a six-carbon molecule, into a
three-carbon molecule called pyruvate. This process takes place in the cytoplasm.
 Anaerobic respiration:
 The pyruvate may be converted into ethanol and carbon dioxide. This process
takes place in yeast during fermentation. Since this process takes place in the
absence of air (oxygen), it is called anaerobic respiration.
 Aerobic respiration:
 The breakdown of pyruvate using oxygen takes place in the mitochondria. This
process breaks up the three-carbon pyruvate molecule to give three molecules of
carbon dioxide. The other product is water. Since this process takes place in the
presence of air (oxygen), it is called aerobic respiration.
Aerobic respiration Anaerobic respiration
1. Takes place in the presence of oxygen. 1. Takes place in the absence of oxygen.
2. Complete breakdown of food occurs in it. 2. Incomplete breakdown of food occurs in it.
3. The end products are Carbon dioxide and 3. The end products are lactic acid or ethanol
water. and Carbon dioxide.
4. It takes place in the cytoplasm and inside
4. It takes place in the cytoplasm only.
mitochondria.
5. More energy is released. 5. Less energy is released.

 Sometimes, when there is a lack of oxygen in our muscle cells, another pathway for
the breakdown of pyruvate is taken. Here the pyruvate is converted into lactic acid
which is also a three-carbon molecule. This build-up of lactic acid in our muscles
during sudden activity causes cramps.
 Normally during day time, the rate of photosynthesis is much more than the rate of
respiration. So, carbon dioxide produced during respiration is used up for
photosynthesis hence carbon dioxide is not released.
 Terrestrial animals can breathe oxygen in the atmosphere, but animals that live in
water need to use the oxygen dissolved in water.
 Since the amount of dissolved oxygen is fairly low compared to the amount of
oxygen in the air, the rate of breathing in aquatic organisms is much faster than that
seen in terrestrial organisms.
 Human respiratory system:

 The respiratory route of air in the respiratory tract of humans is the Nostrils →
pharynx → larynx → trachea → alveoli.
 Rings of cartilage are present in the throat. These ensure that the air passage does
not collapse.
 Within the lungs, the passage divides into smaller and smaller tubes which finally
terminate in balloon-like structures which are called alveoli (singular–alveolus).
 Role of alveoli:
 The alveoli provide a surface where the exchange of gases can take place.
 The walls of the alveoli contain an extensive network of blood vessels. The blood
brings carbon dioxide from the rest of the body for release into the alveoli, and
 the oxygen in the alveolar air is taken up by the blood in the alveolar blood
vessels to be transported to all the cells in the body.
 In human beings, the respiratory pigment is hemoglobin which has a very high
affinity for oxygen. This pigment is present in the red blood corpuscles.
 Carbon dioxide is more soluble in water than oxygen is and hence is mostly
transported in the dissolved form in our blood.
Transportation
Transportation in Human Beings
 Blood transports food, oxygen, and waste materials in our bodies.
 Blood consists of a fluid medium called plasma in which the cells are suspended.
 Plasma transports food, carbon dioxide, and nitrogenous wastes in dissolved form.
 Oxygen is carried by the red blood corpuscles.
 We thus need -
 a pumping organ (heart) to push blood around the body,
 a network of tubes (arteries and veins) to reach all the tissues and
 a system in place (platelets) to ensure that this network can be repaired if
damaged.
Our pump — the heart

 Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs comes to the thin-walled upper chamber of the
heart on the left, the left atrium.
 The left atrium relaxes when it is collecting this blood.
 It then contracts, while the next chamber, the left ventricle, relaxes, so that the
blood is transferred to it.
 When the muscular left ventricle contracts in its turn, the blood is pumped out to the
body.
 De-oxygenated blood comes from the body to the upper chamber on the right, the
right atrium, as it relaxes.
 As the 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.
 The separation of the right side and the left 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.
  Animals, like amphibians and many reptiles, have three-chambered hearts and
tolerate some mixing of the oxygenated and de-oxygenated blood streams.
 Fishes, on the other hand, have only two chambers to their hearts, and the blood is
pumped to the gills, is oxygenated there, and passes directly to the rest of the body.
Double circulatory system

The oxygenated blood from the lungs returns to the heart, which is pumped again into
different parts of the body by the heart. Thus, the blood passed twice through the heart
making one complete round through the body, i.e., once through the right half in the form
of deoxygenated blood and once through the left half in the form of oxygenated blood.

Blood Pressure
 Blood pressure is measured with an instrument called a sphygmomanometer.
 The force that blood exerts against the wall of a vessel is called blood pressure.
 This pressure is much greater in arteries than in veins.
 The normal systolic pressure is about 120 mm of Hg and diastolic pressure is 80 mm
of Hg.
The tubes – blood vessels
Artery Vein
1. Have thick, elastic, muscular walls. 1. Have thin, non-elastic walls.
2. Lumen is narrow. 2. Lumen is wide.
3. Carry blood from the heart to all body 3. Carry blood from all body parts to the
parts. heart.
4. Carry oxygenated blood (except 4. Carry deoxygenated blood (except
pulmonary artery). pulmonary vein).

Maintenance by platelets
In case of any leakage, the blood has platelet cells that circulate around the body and plug
these leaks by helping to clot the blood at these points of injury.

Lymph
The functions of lymph in transportation are:
 1. Lymph carries digested and absorbed fat from the intestine back to the blood.
2. Lymph drains excess fluid from extracellular space back into the blood.
Blockage of the lymphatic system will lead to water retention and poor fat absorption in the
body.

Blood Lymph
1. Red in color. 1. Colorless.
2. RBCs are present. 2. RBCs are absent.
3. Nutritive substances are
3. Nutritive substances are more.
less.
4. Contains more oxygen. 4. Contains less oxygen.
5. Contains more protein. 5. Contains less protein.
6. Metabolic wastes and Carbon dioxide are in normal
6. Both are more than blood.
amounts.

Transportation in Plants
 Plant transport systems will move energy stores from leaves and raw materials from
roots.
 The xylem moves water and minerals obtained from the soil.
 Phloem transports products of photosynthesis from the leaves where they are
synthesized to other parts of the plant.
Transport of water
 At the roots, cells in contact with the soil actively take up ions. This creates a
difference in the concentration of these ions between the root and the soil. Water,
therefore, moves into the root from the soil to eliminate this difference.
 Evaporation of water molecules from the cells of a leaf creates a suction that pulls
water from the xylem cells of roots.
Transpiration
 The loss of water in the form of vapor from the aerial parts of the plant is known as
transpiration.
 Transpiration helps in the absorption and upward movement of water and minerals
dissolved in it from roots to the leaves.
 It also helps in temperature regulation.
Transport of food and other substances
 The transport of soluble products of photosynthesis is called translocation and it
occurs in the part of the vascular tissue known as the phloem.
 Translocation in phloem is achieved by utilizing energy.
 Material like sucrose is transferred into phloem tissue using energy from ATP.
Xylem Phloem
Carries water & minerals from the roots Carries product of photosynthesis from leaves to
to other parts of the plant the other parts of the plant.
Energy is used from ATP (adenosine
No energy is used.
triphosphate).

Excretion
Excretion in Human Beings
The excretory system of human beings includes a pair of kidneys, a pair of ureters, a urinary
bladder and a urethra.

 The basic filtration unit in the kidneys is a cluster of very thin-walled blood
capillaries.
 Each capillary cluster in the kidney is associated with the cup-shaped end of a coiled
tube called Bowman’s capsule that collects the filtrate.
 Each kidney has large numbers of these filtration units called nephrons packed close
together.
 Some substances in the initial filtrate, such as glucose, amino acids, salts, and a
major amount of water, are selectively re-absorbed as the urine flows along the
tube.
 The amount of water re-absorbed depends on:
1. how much excess water there is in the body
2. how much of dissolved waste there is to be excreted.
 Urine is stored in the urinary bladder until the pressure of the expanded bladder
leads to the urge to pass it out through the urethra.
Haemodialysis : The process of purifying blood by an artificial kidney. It is meant for kidney
failure patients.
Excretion in Plants
Plants use different strategies for excretion of different products:

 Oxygen and carbon dioxide are diffused through stomata.

 Excess water is removed by transpiration.
 Plants can even lose some of their old parts like old leaves and the bark of trees.
 Other waste products like raisins and gums especially in old xylem cells can also be
lost by plants.