Life Processes – Definition, Class10 Notes

Life Processes are essential activities required for an organism’s optimal well-being and proper functionality. An organism wouldn’t be able to exist without these vital life functions. All organisms have distinct traits that set them apart from non-living things. The basic processes of life include organization, metabolism, response, motion, and reproduction. There are extra requirements for growth, differentiation, respiration, digestion, and excretion in humans, the most complicated form of life. Life processes had been addressed in quite a few classes. Life Processes Class 10 describes in depth the various processes that both plants and animals go through.

Table of Content

1. What are Life Processes?
2. Types of Life Processes
3. Nutrition
4. Respiration
5. Transportation
6. Excretion
7. Reproduction
8. Digestion
9. FAQs on Life Processes

What are Life Processes?

The existence of life on Earth is primarily supported by a number of processes and functions. In order to preserve its health and the effective operation of its organ systems, an organism must maintain some basic physiological processes. For existence to persist, they are necessary. The main processes performed by an organism are called life processes. There is a connection between these procedures.  No component of the body, from a single cell to an entire body system, functions independently. For the individual’s health and to sustain life, all work in harmony with one another. A disturbance in the equilibrium of these processes is represented by illnesses like cancer and death.

Types of Life Processes

Living things perform a few fundamental tasks that are vital to their survival. These procedures include Nutrition, Respiration, Transportation, Excretion, Reproduction, and Digestion.

For NCERT Solution of Class 10 Life Processes

Nutrition

All living things need energy and resources in some form, but how they get those things varies. Some living things use simple food substances like carbon dioxide and water that come from inorganic sources. Autotrophs are a group of organisms that includes bacteria and green plants. Other living things also use sophisticated materials. Before being utilized for the maintenance and growth of the organism, these complex compounds must be divided into simpler ones. Organisms employ enzymes as bio-catalysts to do this. So, autotrophs have a role in the survival of heterotrophs either directly or indirectly. Animals and fungi are two examples of heterotrophic creatures.

Autotrophic Nutrition

The autotrophic organism uses photosynthesis to meet its needs for carbon and energy. Autotrophic nutrition is the method through which autotrophs absorb elements from the environment and transform them into stored forms of energy. When sunlight and chlorophyll are present, this substance, which is taken in the form of carbon dioxide and water, is transformed into carbs. The plant uses carbohydrates as a source of energy. Starch is the plant’s internal energy reserve and is used by the plant as and when it is needed to store the carbs that are not immediately used.

Heterotrophic Nutrition

Every organism has environmental modifications. Depending on the kind and availability of food sources as well as how it is consumed by the organism, several nutritional forms are used. For instance, the way in which a cow and a lion get food and the type of nutritive system they employ depend on whether the food supply is stable (like grass) or mobile (like a deer). The organism consumes and utilizes the food via a variety of techniques. Some living things digest food outside of the body before absorbing it. Fungi like bread molds, yeast, and mushrooms are a few examples. Others consume the entire piece of content and digest it inside.

Respiration

When an organism uses food to produce energy, the process that takes place is known as respiration. Organisms need a steady supply of oxygen to perform respiration, as well as a way to get rid of the carbon dioxide that is produced during the process. The methods used by diverse organisms to absorb oxygen and release carbon dioxide vary. Diffusion is a method used for this by unicellular and certain other prehistoric animals.

In plants, diffusion is also utilized to exchange gases. In sophisticated animals, the task of exchanging gases is handled by the respiratory system. Gills are the name for a fish’s breathing apparatus. Fish utilize their gills to inhale oxygen that is dissolved in the water. Aquatic species breathe more swiftly since there is less oxygen available there. Insects use a system of spiracles and tracheae to take in oxygen. Terrestrial animals have lungs, which allow for gas exchange. Humans breathe more slowly than fish because there is ample oxygen available on land.

Steps of Respiration

Carbohydrates are oxidized during respiration to provide energy. The mitochondria, where respiration takes place, are where energy is created and stored as ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is stored in mitochondria and released as necessary.

• Breaking down Glucose into Pyruvate: It occurs within the cytoplasm. The glucose molecule must be broken down in order to produce pyruvic acid. The glucose molecule includes six carbon atoms, whereas pyruvic acid only has three.
• Fate of Pyruvic Acid: Depending on the type of respiration an organism utilizes, mitochondria further break down pyruvic acid, producing different compounds.

Types of Respiration

• Aerobic Respiration: This type of respiration occurs when oxygen is present. Pyruvic acid is a source of carbon dioxide. Energy is released at the end of this process, and a water molecule is also produced.
• Anaerobic Respiration: This type of respiration occurs without oxygen. Pyruvic acid is a compound that is converted into either lactic acid or ethanol. Typically, ethanol is produced when microorganisms like yeast or bacteria participate in anaerobic respiration. Lactic acid is produced by a few microbes as well as muscle cells.

Transportation

The body’s organs, tissues, and cells that assist in moving nutrients, gases, hormones, and waste products throughout the body are together referred to as the transport system or circulatory system. These are the primary parts of this system:

Circulatory Fluids

• Blood: The fluid that travels through the blood vessels is blood, which is movable, red, and watery. Hemoglobin is a pigment that gives it its crimson color. Blood is made up of 45% blood cells (RBC, WBC, and platelets) and 55% plasma. An average person typically carries 5.5 liters of blood.
• Lymph: Lymph is a colorless or pale yellow fluid that mimics blood but lacks platelets and red blood cells. Although the lymph’s composition can vary, it typically consists of 94% water and 6% dissolved materials such as proteins, salts, and a significant amount of white blood cells

Blood Vessels

All body components receive and deliver blood through hollow tubes known as blood arteries. The three primary types of blood vessels are as follows:

• Arteries: The major job of these blood arteries is to transport blood away from the heart. With the exception of the pulmonary artery, which carries deoxygenated blood, they typically transport oxygenated blood (blood with a greater oxygen saturation).
• Veins: These blood channels transport blood to the heart and are a little thinner than arteries. Except for the pulmonary veins, which carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart, they typically transmit deoxygenated blood (blood with low saturation oxygen). 

Heart

The main job of the heart, a muscular organ in our body, is to pump blood via blood veins throughout the body. The main pumping organ is it. Four chambers comprise the human heart. Blood is pumped into each of the two ventricles by two higher chambers known as the atria or auricles. Ventricles are the names of the two lowest chambers. Blood that has lost oxygen is pumped from the right ventricle into the pulmonary artery and then into the lungs. The aorta receives oxygenated blood from the left ventricle and transports it throughout the body. A double membrane known as the pericardium covers the human heart. Three layers make up the heart wall: the epicardium, myocardium, and endocardium. Fine branching blood vessels called capillaries create a network of arteries and veins.

Transportation in Plants

In plants, transportation is an essential process. From the top of their leaves to their roots, trees carry all the nutrients and water they require to survive. Water ends up being a limiting component in growth, making it the main barrier to plant transportation. Trees and other plants have the ideal system for absorbing and moving water to solve this issue. Plants have a huge network of xylem and phloem-based channels. This resembles the circulatory system more closely, which carries blood throughout the body of a human. The xylem and phloem tissues are distributed throughout the plant, much like the circulatory system in humans. The roots of trees give rise to these conducting tissues, which travel up the tree trunk. They eventually branch off into the branches and then, like spider webs, branch even further into every leaf.

Excretion

All metabolic wastes are eliminated from the body through the process of excretion. In humans, a variety of bodily components and internal organs are involved in various processes that lead to excretion. In lesser species, diffusion is the most typical method of excretion. The human body is a unique mechanism that can perform multiple life processes concurrently, including digestion, respiration, and blood circulation. As a result, our bodies produce numerous waste products in a variety of forms, including carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogenous wastes like urea, ammonia, and uric acid. Both helpful and toxic chemicals are present in the blood. We, therefore, have kidneys that distinguish between healthy substances by reabsorption and unhealthy substances by generating urine.

Blood is filtered structurally in a kidney component called a nephron. There are one million nephrons in each kidney. The blood is filtered by kidney capillaries, where necessary components including glucose, amino acids, salts, and the necessary amount of water are then reabsorbed as the blood circulates. Humans produce pee from excess water and nitrogenous waste. As a result, urine is generated and transported to the urinary bladder by the ureters. The Central Nervous System is responsible for controlling the urine bladder. Through the urinary opening known as the urethra, we excrete urine when the brain instructs the urinary bladder to do so.

Excretion in Plants

Plants lack waste-removal organs of their own. There are many ways to remove plant excretory products from the plant body. Both respiration and photosynthesis produce waste products that are employed as starting materials in the other process. The stomata of leaves and the lenticels of stems are responsible for removing gaseous wastes, including oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. The leaves and bark of plants harbor some waste materials. The wastes are eliminated by the bark and leaf shedding. The body of the plant stores some waste materials as solid objects after they have been rendered harmless. Tannins, rubber, resins, gum, and essential oils are a few examples of these wastes. The eucalyptus, jasmine, and orange tree oils, among other forms of accumulated waste products, as well as gums from acacia, rubber trees, and papaya trees. These chemicals are occasionally even discharged into the soil.

Reproduction

Either sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction occurs in plants. Asexual reproduction, which occurs in fungi and daffodil bulbs, only needs one plant to create a duplicate of itself. In order to produce a new plant through sexual reproduction in plants, both female and male gametes are needed. The transfer of the male gametes (pollen) onto the female gametes (ovules) is necessary for this to occur. This process, which can take many different forms depending on the plant, is known as pollination. A pollen grain will only develop if it touches the stigma of the appropriate kind of flower. The tissues of the flower’s center will then allow a pollen tube to develop until it reaches an ovule inside the plant’s ovary. The nucleus of the pollen particle is given a channel down which it might move before joining the nucleus of the ovule. This procedure is known as fertilization. Then these seeds are spread, a new plant emerges, and the cycle repeats.

Biological Reproduction in Humans

Human reproduction can only take place through sexual activity. In this procedure, two parents work together to create a new person. Gametes (sex cells) from both parents are fused to create offspring. As a result, the freshly developed person will be genetically and physically distinct from their parents. Sexual reproduction can be seen in human reproduction. Sexual dimorphism is the term used to describe the fact that in humans, males and females have different reproductive systems. While girls have two ovaries, males have testes, often known as testicles.

Fertilization is the term used to describe the fusing of sperm and egg (ovum) to create a zygote. A critical phase of human reproduction is fertilization. The zygote is the name for the fertilized egg. Beginning to split into numerous cells, the zygote transforms into an embryo. The embryo enters the uterus and attaches to its walls there. The embryo is inserted during this procedure, which is known as implantation, and eventually grows into a fetus.

Digestion

One of the several biological processes that are present in almost all living things is digestion. In order for the body to easily absorb the simpler molecules, more complex molecules must first be broken down. For the purpose of digesting, there is a “tube” in higher creatures like humans. Once the food molecules have been reduced to simple molecules, the blood plasma is where the simple molecules are then absorbed.

Another type of digesting, known as phagocytosis, is displayed by numerous creatures, including amoeba. Here, the organism, which is typically a single cell, uses its plasma membrane to absorb food particles, causing an internal component to develop as an outcome. The food fragments are digested and absorbed once within.

Animals with single openings in their digestive canals include hydras. As a result, food is consumed, broken down, and then reabsorbed through the same aperture. The digestive canals of higher animals contain two openings, allowing for continuous feeding.

FAQs on Life Processes

1. Define the term Life Processes.

Answer:

Life Processes are essential activities required for an organism’s to survive. All life processes help in maintaining “life“.

2. What is Transport System in human beings?

Answer:

The body’s organs, tissues, and cells that assist in moving nutrients, gases, hormones, and waste products throughout the body are together referred to as the transport system or circulatory system. These are the primary parts of this system: a) Circulatory Fluids: Blood and lymph b) Blood Vessels: Arteries, veins, and capillaries c) Heart.

3. What are the major life processes?

Answer:

The major life processes are:

• Nutrition
• Reproduction
• Transportation
• Excretion
• Metabolism
• Respiration

4. What is the study of the life process of organism?

Answer:

The study of life and life processes are known as Biology. It is taken from greek words bios and logos which means (life and study).