LIFE PROCESSES

CLASS X
BIOLOGY
 All the living organisms need energy to perform various life processes. They get
this energy from food. Food is a kind of fuel which provides energy to all the
living organisms.

Nutrition
 Food is an organic substance. The simplest food is glucose also called simple sugar.
 A more complex food is starch. It is made from glucose.
 The general name of substances like glucose and starch is ‘carbohydrates’.
Nutrient: A nutrient can be defined as a substance which an organism obtains from its
surroundings and uses it as a source of energy or for the biosynthesis of its body constituents.
Example: carbohydrates and fats are the nutrients which are used by the organism mainly as a
source of energy.
Proteins and mineral salts are nutrients used by organism for the biosynthesis of its body
constituents like skin, blood, etc.

Nutrition:
Nutrition is the process of intake of nutrients (like carbohydrates, fats, proteins,
minerals, vitamins and water) by an organism as well as the utilization of these
nutrients by the organism. 

Mode of Nutrition:
Mode of nutrition means method of obtaining food by an organism. There are mainly two
modes of nutrition:

1. Autotrophic mode of nutrition

2. Heterotrophic mode of nutrition
Autotrophic mode of nutrition: (‘auto’ means ‘self’ and ‘trophe’ means ‘nutrition’)

 Autotrophic nutrition is that mode of nutrition in which an organism makes (or

synthesizes) its own food from the simple inorganic materials like carbon dioxide and
water present in the surroundings (with the help of sunlight energy).
 Those organisms which can make their own food from carbon dioxide and water are
called autotrophs.
 Example: all green plants, autotrophic bacteria.
 Autotrophs make their food by photosynthesis.
Heterotrophic mode of nutrition: (‘heteros’ means ‘others’ and ‘trophe’ means ‘nutrition’)
 Heterotrophic nutrition is that mode of nutrition in which an organism cannot make
(or synthesizes) its own food from simple inorganic materials like carbon dioxide and
water, and depends on other organisms for its food.
 Those organisms which cannot make their own food from inorganic substances like
carbon dioxide and water, and depends on other organisms for their food are called
heterotrophs.
 Example: all the animals (man, dog, cat, lion, etc.), most bacteria and fungi.
Types of Heterotrophic Nutrition:
 Heterotrophic mode of nutrition is of three types:

1. Saprotrophic (saprophytic) nutrition

2. Parasitic nutrition
3. Holozoic nutrition
Saprotrophic nutrition:
 Saprotrophic nutrition is that nutrition in which an organism obtains its food from
decaying organic matter of dead plants, dead animals and rotten bread, etc.
 The organisms having saprotrophic mode of nutrition are called saprophytes.
 Saprophytes are the organisms which obtain food from dead plants (like rotten
leaves), dead and decaying animal bodies, and other decaying organic matter.
 Example: Fungi (liker bread moulds, mushrooms), and many bacteria.
Parasitic nutrition:
 The parasitic nutrition is that nutrition in which an organism derives its food from the
body of another living organisms without killing it.
 A parasite is an organism (plant or animal) which feed on another living organism
called its host.
 Example: some animals like Plasmodium and roundworms, a few plants like Cuscuta
(amarbel) and several fungi and bacteria.
Holozoic nutrition: 
 The holozoic nutrition is that nutrition in which an organism takes the complex
organic food materials into its body by the process of ingestion, the ingested food is
digested and then absorbed into the body cells of the organism.
 Example: human beings and most of the animal.

Nutrition in plants:
 Green plants are autotrophic and synthesize their own food by the process of
photosynthesis.
 The process, by which green plants make their own food from carbon dioxide and
water by using sunlight energy in the presence of chlorophyll, is called
photosynthesis.
 Oxygen is released during photosynthesis.
The process of photosynthesis can be represented as:

 The process of photosynthesis takes place in the green leaves of a plant.

 The food is prepared by the green leaves of a plant in the form of a simple sugar
called glucose.
 The extra glucose is changed into another food called starch. This starch is stored in
the leaves of the plant.
 The green plants convert sunlight energy into chemical energy by making
carbohydrates.
The photosynthesis takes place in the following three steps:

1. Absorption of sunlight energy by chlorophyll.

2. Conversion of light energy into chemical energy, and splitting of water into hydrogen
and oxygen by light energy.
 3. Reduction of carbon dioxide by hydrogen to form carbohydrate like glucose by
utilizing the chemical energy.

Site of photosynthesis: Chloroplasts

 The site of photosynthesis in a cell of the leaf are chloroplasts which contain
chlorophyll.
 Chloroplasts are present in the photosynthetic cells (mesophyll cells) of green plants.
These cells contain more chlorophyll than other plant cells. 

Nutrition in Animals
 Animals are heterotrophs and hence they depend on other organisms (plants and other
animals) for their food.
 All the animals can be divided into three groups on the basis of their food habits.
These are:
1. Herbivores
2. Carnivores
3. Omnivores

Herbivores: Those animals which eat only plants are called herbivores. Examples are Goat,
Cow, and Deer etc.

Carnivores: Those animals which eat only other animals as food are called carnivores.
Examples are Lion, Tiger, and Lizard etc.

Omnivores: Those animals which eat both, plants and animals are called omnivores.
Examples are Man, Dog and Crow etc.

 It is the energy of sun which provides food for plants, and animals.
Different steps in the process of nutrition in animals
There are five steps in the process of nutrition in animals.
1. Ingestion: The process of taking food into the body is called ingestion.
2. Digestion: the process in which the food containing large, insoluble molecules is
broken down into small, water soluble molecules is called digestion.
3. Absorption: The process in which the digested food passes through the intestinal wall
into blood stream is called absorption.
4. Assimilation: The process in which the absorbed food is taken in by the body cells
and used for energy, growth and repair is called assimilation.
5. Egestion: The process in which the undigested food is removed from the body is
called egestion.

Nutrition in Simple Animals:

Amoeba and paramecium are two very simple unicellular animals. In unicellular animals, all
the processes of nutrition are performed by the single cell.
Nutrition in Amoeba:
 Amoeba eats tiny plants and animals as food which floats in water in which it lives.
 The mode of nutrition in Amoeba is holozoic.
 The process of obtaining food by Amoeba is called phagocytosis.
Steps involved in the nutrition of Amoeba:
Ingestion:
 Amoeba ingests food by forming temporary finger-like projections called
pseudopodia around it.
 The food is engulfed with a little surrounding water to form a food vacuole
(‘temporary stomach’) inside the Amoeba.
Digestion:
 In Amoeba, food is digested in the food vacuole by digestive enzymes which break
down the food into small and soluble molecules by chemical reactions.
Absorption: 
 The digested simple and soluble substances pass out of food vacuole into the
surrounding environment.
Assimilation:
 The absorbed food materials are used to obtain energy through respiration and make
the parts of Amoeba cell which leads to the growth of Amoeba.
Egestion:
 The remaining undigested material is moved to the surface of the cell and thrown out
of the body of Amoeba.
Nutrition in Paramecium:
 Paramecium is also a tiny unicellular animal which lives in water.
Ingestion:
 Paramecium uses its hair like structures called cilia to sweep the food particles from
water and put them into mouth.
 Ingestion is followed by other steps such as digestion, absorption, assimilation and
egestion. (as written in Amoeba)

Nutrition in Human Beings (Complex Multicellular

Animal):
 The various organs of the human digestive system in sequence are: Mouth,
Oesophagus (Food pipe), Stomach, Small intestine and Large intestine.
 The glands which are associated with the human digestive system are: Salivary
glands, Liver and Pancreas.
The various steps of nutrition in human beings are as follows:
Ingestion: 
 In human beings, food is ingested through the mouth. The food is put into the mouth
with the help of hands.
Digestion:
 The digestion of food begins in the mouth itself.
 The teeth cut the food into small pieces, chew and grind it. (Physical digestion)
 The salivary glands in our mouth produce saliva (watery liquid) which contains an
enzyme salivary amylase which digests the starch (carbohydrate) present in the food
into sugar. (Chemical digestion)
 Our tongue helps in mixing this saliva with food.
  The digestion of food remains incomplete in mouth.

Oesophagus:
 The slightly digested food in the mouth is swallowed by the tongue and goes down
the food pipe called oesophagus.
 When the slightly digested food enters the food pipe, the walls of food pipe start
contraction and expansion movements called as peristaltic movement.
 This peristaltic movement of food pipe pushes the slightly digested into the stomach.

Stomach:
 The stomach is a J-shaped organ present on the left side of the abdomen.
 The stomach walls contain s three tubular glands in it walls which secrete gastric
juice.
 The gastric juice contains three substances: Hydrochloric acid, the enzyme pepsin and
mucus.
 The hydrochloric creates an acidic medium which facilitates the action of the enzyme
pepsin i.e. digestion of protein.
 The mucus helps to protect the stomach wall from its own secretions of hydrochloric
acid.
 The partially digested food then goes from the stomach into the small intestine.
Small intestine:
 From the stomach, the partially digested food enters the small intestine.
 The small intestine is the largest part (about 6.5m) of the alimentary canal.
 The small intestine is very narrow and arranged in the form of a coil in our belly.
 The small intestine in human beings is the site of complete digestion of food (like
carbohydrates, proteins and fats)
 The small intestine receives the secretion of two glands: Liver and Pancreas.
 Liver secretes bile (greenish yellow liquid made in the liver and stored in gall
bladder).
 Bile performs two functions:
1. Makes the acidic food coming from the stomach alkaline so that pancreatic
enzymes can act on it.
2. Bile salts break the fats present in the food into small globules making it easy
for the enzymes to act and digest them.
 The pancreas secretes pancreatic juice which contains enzymes like pancreatic
amylase for breaking down starch, trypsin for digesting proteins and lipase for
breaking down emulsified fats.
 The walls of the small intestine contain glands which secretes intestinal juice. The
enzymes present in it finally convert the proteins into amino acids, complex
carbohydrates into glucose and fats into fatty acids and glycerol.
 In this way the process of digestion converts the large and insoluble food molecules
into small water soluble molecules.
Absorption:
 The small intestine is the main region for the absorption of digested food.
 The inner surface of the small intestine has numerous finger-like projections called
villi which increase the surface area for rapid absorption of digested food.
 The digested food which is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine goes into
our blood.

Assimilation:
  The blood carries digested and dissolved food to all the parts of the body where it
becomes assimilated as part of the cells and is utilised for obtaining energy, building
up new tissues and the repair of old tissues.

Egestion: 
 The unabsorbed food is sent into the large intestine where more villi absorb water
from this material.
 The rest of the material is removed from the body via the anus.
 The exit of this waste material is regulated by the anal sphincter.