Chapter 5: Life Processes
Class: 10 Subject: Biology
Life Processes:
Life Processes refer to the essential functions carried out by living organisms to maintain life.
These processes include nutrition, respiration, transportation, excretion. They ensure the
survival, growth, and development of an organism. All these activities are interdependent and
necessary for the proper functioning of an organism.
Key Life Processes:
1. Nutrition:
○ Nutrition is the process by which organisms obtain and use food to provide
energy and build materials for growth and repair.
○ Autotrophic Nutrition: Organisms like plants make their own food through
processes like photosynthesis.
○ Heterotrophic Nutrition: Organisms like animals depend on other organisms for
food. They include herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers.
2. Respiration:
○ Respiration is the process by which organisms break down food (glucose) to
release energy.
○ Aerobic Respiration: Requires oxygen and produces energy, carbon dioxide,
and water. It occurs in the mitochondria of cells.
○ Anaerobic Respiration: Occurs without oxygen and produces less energy,
along with by-products like alcohol or lactic acid (e.g., in yeast or muscles during
intense exercise).
3. Transportation:
○ Transport is the movement of substances like nutrients, oxygen, and waste
products within the organism.
○ In animals: The circulatory system (heart, blood vessels, and blood) transports
oxygen, nutrients, and waste products.
○ In plants: The vascular system (xylem and phloem) transports water, minerals,
and food.
4. Excretion:
○ Excretion is the removal of harmful waste products generated during
metabolism.
○ In animals: Organs like the kidneys filter blood to remove wastes, which are then
excreted as urine.
○ In plants: Excess water and gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide are released
through stomata. Some waste products are stored in vacuoles or shed through
leaves.
Question and Answer:
1. Why is diffusion insufficient to meet the oxygen requirements of multicellular organisms like
humans?
Diffusion is insufficient to meet the oxygen requirements of multicellular organisms like humans
because diffusion alone is a slow process and cannot transport oxygen effectively over long
distances in large bodies. As organisms become larger and more complex, their cells are farther
away from the external environment, and diffusion cannot supply the required oxygen quickly
enough to maintain cellular functions in all parts of the body. Hence, humans and other
multicellular organisms have developed specialized respiratory and circulatory systems (like
lungs and blood vessels) to transport oxygen efficiently.
2. What criteria do we use to decide whether something is alive? The criteria used to decide
whether something is alive include:
Growth: Living organisms grow by increasing in size or by producing new cells.
Metabolism: The chemical reactions that occur within an organism to produce energy (such as
respiration and digestion) are essential for sustaining life.
Response to stimuli: Living organisms respond to changes in their environment (like
temperature, light, and sound).
Movement: Living organisms show some form of movement, either internally (like blood flow) or
externally (like animals moving).
Organization: Living things have complex structures made up of cells, tissues, and organs.
3. What are outside raw materials used for by an organism?
Outside raw materials, like oxygen, water, and nutrients, are used by organisms for various
essential life processes, such as:
Respiration: Oxygen is used for the process of respiration to produce energy.
Nutrition: Nutrients (such as glucose, proteins, fats, and minerals) are used to provide energy,
growth, and repair tissues.
Excretion: Raw materials like water are involved in the removal of waste products from the
body.
Cellular activities: Water and minerals are required for the proper functioning of cells and
tissues.
4. What processes would you consider essential for maintaining life?
The essential processes for maintaining life are:
Nutrition: The process of obtaining and utilizing food to provide energy and nutrients.
Respiration: The process of releasing energy from food molecules, mainly through oxygen, to
power cellular functions.
Transportation: The movement of materials (like oxygen, nutrients, and waste) within the body,
usually through circulatory systems.
Excretion: The removal of waste products produced during metabolism.
Regulation: The ability to maintain internal balance (homeostasis) like body temperature, pH,
and water levels, despite changes in the external environment.
