Life Processes – Excretion (Class 10)
2-Mark Competency-Based Questions with Answers
Q: Why is excretion necessary for organisms?
A: To remove toxic metabolic wastes like urea, CO■, ammonia; accumulation can damage cells.
Q: How does ADH regulate urine formation?
A: ADH increases reabsorption of water in kidney tubules, producing concentrated urine when body
water is low.
Q: Why is glucose normally absent in urine of a healthy person?
A: Because glucose is completely reabsorbed in the proximal tubule of the nephron.
Q: A patient’s urine test shows high urea content. What does it indicate about kidney
function?
A: Kidneys are filtering blood properly but body metabolism is producing excess urea (may indicate
high protein breakdown).
Q: How do kidneys help maintain osmotic balance in the body?
A: By reabsorbing water and salts as per the body’s need and excreting the rest in urine.
Q: Why does the urine output vary with the amount of water a person drinks?
A: Excess water → dilute urine; less water → concentrated urine, controlled by ADH.
Q: State the role of nephrons in urine formation.
A: Nephrons filter blood, reabsorb useful substances, and secrete wastes to form urine.
Q: How does dialysis help kidney patients survive?
A: Dialysis removes urea and extra salts from blood using an artificial membrane, mimicking kidney
function.
Q: Why do desert animals like camels produce very concentrated urine?
A: To conserve water, as water availability is very low in deserts.
Q: What will happen if both kidneys of a person stop working?
A: Toxic wastes like urea accumulate, causing death unless treated with dialysis or kidney
transplant.
Q: Draw a labelled diagram of a nephron and show glomerulus, Bowman’s capsule, tubule,
and collecting duct.
A: Answer: Diagram required (students must draw nephron with labels).
Q: Write two differences between ultrafiltration and reabsorption in urine formation.
A: Ultrafiltration: at glomerulus, non-selective, filters plasma. Reabsorption: in tubules, selective,
reclaims glucose, water, salts.
Q: In which part of nephron does filtration take place? What is the filtrate called?
A: Filtration takes place in Bowman’s capsule; filtrate is called glomerular filtrate.
Q: State the role of collecting duct in nephron function.
A: Collects urine from nephrons and regulates water reabsorption before passing to ureter.
Q: Why are kidneys considered as excretory as well as regulatory organs?
A: They remove nitrogenous waste (excretion) and regulate water-salt balance (homeostasis).
Q: A man was found to have excess glucose in his urine. Name the disease. Why is glucose
excreted?
A: Disease: Diabetes Mellitus. Glucose is excreted because kidneys cannot reabsorb it fully due to
high blood sugar levels.
Q: Why do patients of kidney failure pass less or no urine?
A: Because their nephrons fail to filter blood and form urine.
Q: Why is ammonia excreted by fishes but urea/uric acid by land animals?
A: Fishes excrete ammonia directly into water (less toxic in water). Land animals conserve water,
so they excrete less toxic urea/uric acid.
Q: In summer, urine is more concentrated while in winter, it is more diluted. Explain.
A: In summer, more water is lost through sweating, so less water in urine. In winter, less sweating,
so more water in urine.
Q: Why is the excretory system of plants considered simpler than that of animals?
A: Plants excrete via diffusion, storage in vacuoles, or shedding of leaves/fruits; no complex organs
required.
Q: If the kidneys are removed from an organism, what immediate and long-term effects will
be observed?
A: Immediate: No urine formation. Long-term: Accumulation of toxic wastes, leading to death.
Q: Doctors often test urine to diagnose diseases. Why? Give one example.
A: Urine carries metabolic waste, abnormal presence indicates disease. Example: Glucose in urine
→ Diabetes.
Q: Why does excessive sweating sometimes reduce urine output?
A: Because body loses water in sweat, so kidneys conserve water by producing less urine.
Q: A student labels the ureter as the structure where urine is formed. Is this correct? If not,
correct the error with reason.
A: Incorrect. Urine is formed in nephrons of kidney, not ureter. Ureter only transports urine.
Q: Suppose a person has damaged glomeruli. Which step of urine formation will be directly
affected? Why?
A: Filtration will be affected because glomeruli are responsible for ultrafiltration of blood plasma.
