Introduction

● All living organisms such as plants and animals require food. So food is essential for all
living organisms.

● Plants are capable of making their food themselves but humans and animals cannot.
● Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals are essential components of food,

these components are called nutrients.

Mode of nutrition in plants

● Plants prepare their food by using raw materials like water, carbon dioxide and minerals.
● The process of utilization of food by a living organism to obtain energy is called
nutrition.
 ● There are two modes of nutrition as shown below in the figure

1. Autotrophs or Autotrophic: - Plants that have chlorophyll trap the energy from the
sun and prepare their own food. Such nutrition wherein the food is prepared by
the organisms itself is called autotrophic nutrition. The organisms capable of
preparing their own food are called autotrophs. All green plants are Autotrophs
(Auto means self and trophos means nourishment). They prepare their own food
by a process called photosynthesis.

● Heterotrophs or heterophobic: - Heterotrophic organisms are those who obtain

food from other organisms. Since these organisms depend on other organisms
for their food, they are called consumers. All animals and non-green plants like
fungi come under this category.Organisms that follow the heterotrophic mode of
nutrition are called heterotrophs.

Photosynthesis
 ● Photosynthesis is the food making process in plants from simple substances like
carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight.

● 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 carbohydrates like glucose by
utilizing the chemical energy.

Conditions necessary for photosynthesis:

The conditions necessary for photosynthesis to take place are:

1. Sunlight
2. Chlorophyll
3. Carbon dioxide
4. Water

Raw materials for photosynthesis:

The raw materials for photosynthesis are:

1. Carbon dioxide
2. Water

How do plants obtain carbon dioxide?

● There are a large number of tiny pores called stomata on the surface of the
leaves of plants.
● The carbon dioxide gas enters the leaves of the plant through the stomata
present on their surface.
● Each stomatal pore is surrounded by a pair of guard cells. The opening and
closing of stomatal pores is controlled by the guard cells.
How the plants obtain water for photosynthesis:

● The water required by the plants for photosynthesis is absorbed by the root of
the plants from the soil through the process of osmosis.
● The water absorbed by the roots of the plants is transported upward through the
xylem vessels to the leaves where it reaches the photosynthetic cells.
1. The plants also need other raw materials such as nitrogen, phosphorus, iron and
magnesium, etc., for building their body.
2. The plants take these materials from the soil.
3. Nitrogen is an essential element used by the plants to make proteins and other
compounds.

Site of photosynthesis: Chloroplasts

 ● Photosynthesis takes place in the leaves of the plants.
● Leaves have green pigment called chlorophyll
● It helps leaves capture the energy of the sunlight which is then used to prepare
food from carbon dioxide and water.
● Here, you see that solar energy is captured by the leaves and is stored in the plant
in the form of food.
● So, we can say that the Sun is the ultimate source of energy for all living
organisms.

Other Notes on photosynthesis

● Photosynthesis in plants can also take place in other green parts like green
stems, green branches.
● Glucose (simple carbohydrates) is the simplest food synthesized by plants. This
glucose made by plants is converted into complex carbohydrates which are
known as starch.
● These simple carbohydrates are used to synthesise other components of food
such as proteins and fats.
● Proteins are nitrogenous substances. Plants prepare proteins with the help of
nitrogen which is obtained from the soil.
● Plants use the minerals dissolved in water to convert Glucose (simple
carbohydrates) into carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
● Photosynthesis is important because
1. It provides food to animals including human beings
2. It puts oxygen gas into the air which is essential for breathing and
respiration in animals including human beings

Other modes of nutrition in plants(Heterotrophic nutrition)

 ● Most of the plants have green pigment called chlorophyll and can make their own
food.
● Some plants do not have chlorophyll and cannot synthesize their own food and
are known as Heterotrophic plants
● This type of nutrition can be categorized into
1. parasitic mode of nutrition
2. Insectivorous mode
3. saprophytic mode of nutrition
4. Symbiotic mode of nutrition
● Let us now explain these modes in detail

Parasites
● In parasitic mode of nutrition, plants depend on other plants or animals for their
nourishment.
● Such dependent plants are called as parasites and the ones on which parasites
depend are called as hosts.
● A parasite plant climbs on the host plant from which they get all the food.
● The host does not get any benefit from the parasite.
● Some examples of parasites are Cuscuta (akash-bel), Cassytha (amar-bel),
hookworms, tapeworms, leeches, etc.

More Notes

● Cuscuta (dodder) is a plant that does not have chlorophyll; it sucks food from the
host plant through adventitious roots called haustoria, Cuscuta is therefore a
complete parasite.
● Mistletoe plants have green leaves and so can carry out photosynthesis. This
plant mainly absorbs water and minerals from the host plant. Therefore,
Mistletoe is called a partial parasitic plant.
 ● Rafflesia is a parasite of the Tetrastigma plant. It is completely dependent on its
host plant for food.

Insectivorous Plants
● The insectivorous mode of nutrition is observed in plants like pitcher plant and
the Venus fly trap.
● These types of plants purely depend on other insects and small animals for their
nutrition.
● Pitcher plants trap small insects inside the pitcher and insects are digested by
the digestive juices secreted in the pitcher.
● Insectivorous plants grow in those soils which do not contain sufficient nitrogen
minerals.
● These types of plants are green and carry out photosynthesis to obtain a part of
food.

More Notes

● The leaves of the Venus flytrap have stiff hair-like projections on their edges and
the entire leaf is divided into two parts, with the middle acting as a hinge. When
an insect sits on the leaf, it shuts tightly, trapping the insect inside it.
● The Pitcher plant has a pitcher- shaped structure filled with liquid. It has a flap
-like structure on its mouth. The edge of the opening of the pitcher is slippery.
The insect that sits on its slips and falls into the pitcher, getting trapped inside
with the closing of the lid.
● The sundew plant has long needle-like structures called tentacles covered with a
sticky substance called mucous. Once an insect sits on it, it gets caught in the
mucous and the tentacles fold inward, trapping the insect.
Saprotrophs
● Mode of nutrition in which organisms or plants that obtain their nutrition from
dead and decaying organic matter is called Saprophytic mode
● The plants which exhibit saprotrophic mode of nutrition are called as saprotrophs
● Saprotrophs secrete digestive juices onto dead and decaying matter to dissolve it
and then absorb nutrients from it.
● Examples of saprotrophs are moulds, mushrooms, yeasts and some bacteria.

Symbiotic plants
● In this mode of nutrition there is a close association between two different plants
of different categories.
● In such a type of association both the plants benefit.
● For example certain fungi live in the roots of the trees. In this case the tree
provides nutrients to fungi and in return receives help from it to take up water and
nutrients from the soil.

How nutrients are replenished in the soil

● We know that plants continuously take nutrients from the soil in order to
synthesize food. As a result, this amount of nutrients in the soil decreases.
● Nutrients in the soil are replenished by adding fertilisers and manures.
● Fertilisers and manures contain plants nutrients and minerals like nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium.
● Another way to replenish soil is to grow leguminous crops (for example gram,
peas, pulses etc.) in the soil.
● The bacterium called Rhizobium can take atmospheric nitrogen and convert it
into a soluble form.
● But Rhizobium cannot make its own food. So it lives in the roots of gram, peas,
moong, beans and other legumes and provides them with nitrogen. In return
plants provide food and shelter to the bacteria.
● Thus plants and bacteria have a symbiotic relationship here.

Differences between a parasitic and a symbiotic relationship

 NUTRITION IN ANIMALS

Introduction
● In the previous chapter we learned that plants can prepare their own food by
photosynthesis but animals cannot.
● Animals get their food from plants, either directly by eating plants or indirectly by
eating animals that eat plants. So animals exhibit heterotopic modes of nutrition.
● Again from the previous chapter it is clear that all living organisms (both plants
and animals) need certain nutrients to stay alive and grow and these nutrients
are obtained from food.
● Since this Chapter is about nutrition in animals, in this chapter we will learn about
the process of intake and utilization of food in animals.
● All the animals can be divided into three groups on the basis of their food habits.
These are:
1. Herbivores: Those animals which eat only plants are called herbivores.
Examples are goats, cows, and Deer etc.
2. Carnivores: Those animals which eat only other animals as food are called
carnivores. Examples are Lion, Tiger, and Lizard etc.
3. Omnivores: Those animals which eat both plants and animals are called
omnivores. Examples are Man, Dog and Crow etc.

Process of nutrition in animal

Holozoic nutrition: It is a process by which animals take in their food. It involves
different steps namely, ingestion, digestion, absorption, assimilation and egestion.
Human beings exhibit a holozoic mode of nutrition involving five basic steps.
● Ingestion: The process of taking food into the body is called ingestion.
● Digestion: the process in which the food containing large, insoluble molecules is
broken down into small, water soluble molecules is called digestion.
 ● Absorption: The process in which the digested food passes through the
intestinal wall into the bloodstream is called absorption.
● 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.
● Egestion: The process in which the undigested food is removed from the body is
called egestion.

Nutrition in Simple organisms

In this section we will learn about simple organisms like amoeba, paramecium, hydra,
spider and frog.

Nutrition in Amoeba
● Amoeba is a microscopic organism which consists of only a single cell.
● Amoeba is mostly found in pond water.
● Figure given below shows the structure of the 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:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Absorption: The digested simple and soluble substances pass out of food
vacuole into the surrounding environment.
4. 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.
5. 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 the mouth.
● Ingestion is followed by other steps such as digestion, absorption, assimilation
and egestion which are same as those we studied in Amoeba

Nutrition in Hydra
● Hydra is a simple multicellular animal.
● It has a number of tentacles around its mouth, which are used for ingestion of
food.
● These tentacles entangle small aquatic animals and kill them with their stinging
cells.
● After this they push them into their mouth. Now inside their body cavity digestive
juices are secreted by the surrounding cells.
 ● These juices digest the food and the digested food is absorbed through the
cavity walls and assimilated in the cells.

Nutrition in frog
● The frog uses its long sticky tongue to catch insects. Frogs have a well
developed digestion system in which the digestion of food takes place.

Nutrition in Spider
● In spiders digestion of food actually takes place outside their body.
● A spider weaves a sticky web in which small insects get stuck.
● It then injects digestive juices into the body of the insect, which digests the body
part of the insects.
● The spider then sucks up the digested food.

Nutrition in Humans
● There are 5 steps involved in nutrition in animals including human beings.
● Ingestion: The process of taking in food by an organism is called ingestion.
● Digestion: Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into
simple soluble substances.
● Absorption: The digested food is then taken up by the circulatory stream and
carried to the cells of the body. This process is called absorption.
● Assimilation: The absorbed food is used by the body to generate energy and for
growth.
● Egestion: The undigested food is a waste product, and it is removed from the
body in the last stage by a process called egestion

Human Digestive system

● We take food through our mouth, digest and utilise it.
● Figure given below shows the human digestive system

● Human digestive system consists of an alimentary canal and its associated

human digestive system glands.
● Various organs of human digestive system in sequence are
1. Mouth (Buccal Cavity)
2. Oesophagus (food Pipe)
3. Stomach
4. Small intestine
5. Large intestine
6. Rectum
7. Anus.
● The glands which are associated with human digestive system are
 1. Salivary glands- Located in mouth or Buccal Cavity
2. Liver- It is the largest gland situated in the upper part of the abdomen on
the right side.
3. Pancreas- located just below the stomach
● The ducts of various glands open into the alimentary canal and pour secretion of
their juices into the alimentary canal.

Digestion in the mouth

● We take food through our mouth and the process of taking food into the body is
called ingestion.
● The mouth or buccal cavity contains teeth, tongue and salivary glands.
● Digestion begins in the mouth when we chew the food with the help of our teeth.
● The teeth cut the food into smaller pieces, chew and grind it.

Chewing breaks down the food into smaller pieces and mixes them with saliva. This
process is called mastication.
● The salivary glands secrete watery liquid called saliva. Saliva is a digestive juice
that helps to partially digest the starch present in the food.
● The tongue helps in mixing saliva with the food.
● Tongue is a muscular organ that helps you eat the food. It mixes saliva with the
food during chewing and helps in swallowing it.
● We also taste food with our tongue as it has taste buds that detect different
tastes of food.

Teeth
● Teeth are used for cutting, grinding and tearing the food before you swallow it.
● You have different types of teeth to do the job.
● Milk teeth:- A child has only 20 teeth, 10 in each jaw. These are known as milk
teeth. They begin to fall at the age between 6 to 8 and then new set of teeth
grows.
● Permanent teeth:- This set contains 32 teeth, 16 in each jaw. There are 4
incisors, 2 canines, 4 premolars and 6 molars in each jaw. As shown below in the
figure:

1. Your front teeth are incisors. They are used for biting and cutting.
2. Next to incisors are canines. These are pointed and are used for piercing
and tearing pieces of food.
3. Teeth at the back of your mouth are broad with almost flat surfaces.
These teeth crush and grind food and are called the premolars and
molars. Molars are larger than premolars
 4. White substance that covers your teeth is called enamel.

The food pipe/Oesophagus

● The swallowed food passes into the food pipe or oesophagus as shown below in
the figure
● This figure shows the movement of food in the food pipe which runs along the
neck and chest.

● So, the oesophagus leads from your mouth to the stomach. It is made up of
muscles.
● Food is pushed down by movement of the wall of the food pipe.
● This movement called peristalsis, takes place throughout the alimentary canal
and pushes the food downwards.

Stomach
● Stomach is the thick walled bag present on the left side of the abdomen. (see
human digestive system figure)
● It is the widest part of the alimentary canal. Oesophagus brings slightly digested
food from the mouth into the stomach.
 ● The stomach walls contain three tubular glands in its 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 that is the digestion of protein into simple substances.
● The acid kills many bacteria that enter along with the food.
● 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
● Small intestine is highly coiled and is about 7.5 m long.
● After leaving the stomach food enters the small intestine and last steps of
digestion take place in the small intestine.
● It receives secretions from liver and pancreas and the wall of the small intestine
also secrets juices.
● Liver:- Liver is the largest gland in the body and is situated in the upper part of
the abdomen on the right side. It secretes bile juice that is stored in gallbladder
● Pancreas:- It is the large cream coloured gland located just below the stomach.
The pancreatic juice acts on carbohydrates, fats and proteins and converts them
into simple form.
● The partly digested food now reaches the lower part of the small
● 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.

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 these useful substances to each and every part of the body.
The body uses these substances for its growth and maintenance. The absorption
of digested food and its utilization by the body is known as assimilation.
● Glucose, which is the final product of carbohydrate digestion, is broken down
with the help of oxygen into carbon dioxide and water to release energy. Amino
acids are used for growth and repair of worn out cells.
● Fatty acid and glycerol Store below the skin as energy reserves.

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Egestion:
● The undigested and unabsorbed food moves into the large intestine, to a part
called colon, where some amount of water and salts are absorbed from the
undigested food
● The remaining undigested food that moves to the second part called rectum.
Here, it is stored and removed from the body through the anus.
● The exit of this waste material is regulated by the anal sphincter.
● This process is known as egestion.

Digestion in grass eating animals(ruminants)

● Plant eating animals such as cows, deer, goats, buffaloes, camels and yaks
quickly swallow their food after chewing it once.
 ● The swallowed food goes to a chamber called rumen. They bring back the food
later into the mouth and chew it again. These animals are called ruminants and
the process is called rumination.
● The stomach of ruminants consists of four compartments: rumen, reticulum,
omasum and abomasum.
● The swallowed food first enters the rumen, where the microorganism begins the
digestion of the food (cellulose- a complex carbohydrate).
● In the first two chambers, the rumen and the reticulum, the food is mixed with
saliva and separated into layers of solid and liquid material
● Solid clump together to form the cud or bolus.
● The cud is brought back from the rumen to the mouth, where it is chewed slowly
by completely mixing it with saliva and is further broken down. When the cud is
chewed and swallowed again, it enters the omasum where the food is broken
down further into simple compounds that enter in the abomasum.
● Hydrochloric acid and digestive juices (gastric juices) are secreted in these
chambers and the food is now fully digested.
● It is then sent to the small intestine for absorption and the leftover undigested
food is passed on to the large intestine from where it is excreted.
● Grass is rich in cellulose and we humans cannot digest it.

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Concept Map
Nutrition in animals
Digestion in humans