Of course!
Based on the NCERT PDF you provided, here are the rapid revision notes for the
chapter "Life Processes."
Chapter 5: Life Processes
1. What are Life Processes?
● Definition: The processes that work together to perform maintenance and repair in living
organisms are called life processes.
● Energy Requirement: Energy is necessary for these maintenance processes, and it
comes from food obtained from outside the body through nutrition.
● Essential Processes for Maintaining Life:
○ Nutrition: The process of transferring a source of energy (food) from outside to
inside the organism's body.
○ Respiration: The process of acquiring oxygen and using it to break down food
sources for cellular energy needs.
○ Transportation: A system to carry food and oxygen to all parts of the body.
○ Excretion: The process of removing harmful waste by-products from the body.
2. Nutrition
The process of obtaining food for energy, growth, and repair.
2.1 Autotrophic Nutrition
Organisms produce their own food from simple inorganic sources like carbon dioxide and water.
● Photosynthesis: The process by which autotrophs (like green plants) take in substances
from the outside and convert them into stored energy.
○ Raw Materials: Carbon dioxide, water, sunlight, and chlorophyll.
○ Equation: 6CO_2 + 12H_2O \xrightarrow{Chlorophyll, Sunlight} C_6H_{12}O_6 +
6O_2 + 6H_2O
○ Key Events:
1. Chlorophyll absorbs light energy.
2. Light energy is converted to chemical energy, and water molecules are split
into hydrogen and oxygen.
3. Carbon dioxide is reduced to form carbohydrates.
● Stomata: These are tiny pores on the surface of leaves through which massive amounts
of gas exchange occur for photosynthesis. The opening and closing of these pores are
regulated by guard cells.
● Energy Storage: Carbohydrates that are not used immediately are stored in the form of
starch in plants. In humans, energy is stored as glycogen.
2.2 Heterotrophic Nutrition
Organisms depend on other organisms for their food. This includes animals and fungi.
● Types of Strategies:
○ Some organisms break down food material outside the body and then absorb it
(e.g., fungi like yeast, mushrooms).
○ Some take in whole material and break it down inside their bodies.
○ Parasitic Nutrition: Some organisms derive nutrition from plants or animals
without killing them (e.g., ticks, lice, tape-worms).
2.3 Nutrition in Human Beings
The human digestive system consists of a long tube called the alimentary canal, extending
from the mouth to the anus.
● Mouth: Food is crushed by the teeth. Salivary glands release saliva, which contains the
enzyme salivary amylase that breaks down complex starch molecules into simple sugar.
● Stomach: It is a large organ that expands when food enters. The gastric glands in the
stomach wall release:
○ Hydrochloric Acid (HCl): Creates an acidic medium for the enzyme pepsin.
○ Pepsin: A protein-digesting enzyme.
○ Mucus: Protects the inner lining of the stomach from the acid.
● Small Intestine: This is the longest part of the alimentary canal and the site for the
complete digestion of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
○ It receives bile juice from the liver, which makes the acidic food alkaline and breaks
down large fat globules into smaller ones (emulsification).
○ It receives pancreatic juice from the pancreas, which contains enzymes like
trypsin (for digesting proteins) and lipase (for breaking down fats).
○ The walls of the small intestine have numerous finger-like projections called villi,
which increase the surface area for the absorption of digested food.
● Large Intestine: Its walls absorb water from the undigested food. The remaining waste is
removed from the body via the anus.
3. Respiration
The process of breaking down food to release energy for cellular needs.
Breakdown of Glucose by Various Pathways
● Step 1 (In Cytoplasm): The first step is the breakdown of glucose (a 6-carbon molecule)
into a 3-carbon molecule called pyruvate. This process occurs in the cytoplasm.
● Step 2 (Fate of Pyruvate):
○ Aerobic Respiration (in Mitochondria): In the presence of oxygen, pyruvate
breaks down into carbon dioxide, water, and energy. This process releases a lot
more energy.
○ Anaerobic Respiration (in Yeast): In the absence of oxygen, pyruvate is
converted into ethanol, carbon dioxide, and energy.
○ Lack of Oxygen (in Muscle Cells): During sudden activity, a lack of oxygen
causes pyruvate to be converted into lactic acid (a 3-carbon molecule). The
buildup of lactic acid causes muscle cramps.
Human Respiratory System
● Air Passage: Nostrils → Nasal Passage → Pharynx → Larynx → Trachea → Bronchi →
Lungs → Bronchioles → Alveoli.
● Alveoli: These are balloon-like structures at the end of bronchioles that provide a large
surface area for the exchange of gases. The walls of the alveoli have an extensive
network of blood vessels.
● Gas Transport:
○ Haemoglobin: This is the respiratory pigment in red blood corpuscles that has a
very high affinity for oxygen and transports it to all tissues.
○ Carbon Dioxide: It is more soluble in water and is mostly transported in the
dissolved form in our blood.
4. Transportation
4.1 Transportation in Human Beings
The circulatory system consists of the heart, blood, and blood vessels.
● Blood: A fluid connective tissue composed of:
○ Plasma: A fluid medium that transports food, CO₂, and nitrogenous wastes.
○ Red Blood Corpuscles (RBCs): Carry oxygen.
○ Platelets: Circulate in the body and help to clot blood at points of injury to prevent
leaks.
● Heart: A muscular organ that acts as a pump. It has four chambers to prevent the mixing
of oxygen-rich blood with blood containing carbon dioxide.
○ Double Circulation: In humans, blood goes through the heart twice for each cycle.
This is necessary to allow for a highly efficient supply of oxygen to the body, which
helps maintain a constant body temperature.
● Blood Vessels:
○ Arteries: Carry blood away from the heart to various organs. They have thick,
elastic walls as the blood is under high pressure.
○ Veins: Collect blood from different organs and bring it back to the heart. They have
valves to ensure blood flows in only one direction.
○ Capillaries: The smallest vessels with one-cell thick walls where the exchange of
material between blood and cells takes place.
4.2 Transportation in Plants
Plants have two independently organized conducting tubes: xylem and phloem.
● Xylem: Transports water and minerals obtained from the soil to all parts of the plant.
○ Transpiration: The loss of water as vapour from the aerial parts of the plant. This
creates a suction pull which is the major driving force for the movement of water in
the xylem during the day.
● Phloem: Transports the soluble products of photosynthesis (food) from the leaves to
other parts of the plant.
○ Translocation: The transport of food from leaves to other parts of the plant. This
process is achieved by utilizing energy from ATP.
5. Excretion
The biological process involved in the removal of harmful metabolic wastes from the body.
5.1 Excretion in Human Beings
● Excretory System: Includes a pair of kidneys, a pair of ureters, a urinary bladder, and a
urethra.
● Kidneys: The purpose of the kidneys is to filter waste products like urea from the blood to
form urine.
● Nephrons: These are the basic filtration units of the kidney, and each kidney has a large
number of them packed together.
○ Structure: A nephron consists of a cluster of thin-walled capillaries called the
glomerulus, which is associated with a cup-shaped end of a tube called
Bowman's capsule.
○ Functioning: As urine flows along the tube, substances like glucose, amino acids,
salts, and a major amount of water are selectively re-absorbed.
5.2 Excretion in Plants
● Plants get rid of excess water through transpiration.
● Oxygen, a by-product of photosynthesis, can be considered a waste product.
● Many waste products are stored in cellular vacuoles or in leaves that fall off.
● Other waste products are stored as resins and gums, especially in old xylem.
● Plants also excrete some waste substances into the soil around them.
