Life Processes

CLASS - X
 Respiration
• It is a metabolic process which involves breakdown of food to release
energy is known as respiration.
• The breakdown of pyruvate into ethanol and carbon-dioxide is absence of
oxygen is known as fermentation. As this process occurs in absence of
oxygen, it is known as anaerobic respiration.
• When the pyruvate is broken down in carbon-dioxide and water in
presence of oxygen it is known as aerobic respiration.
• Breakdown of glucose in lack of oxygen produces lactic acid, which causes
muscular cramps in athletes.
• The energy released during the process is used up to synthesize the ATP
(adenosine triphosphate).
• Compared to animals, plants used stomata to exchange carbon-dioxide and
oxygen. This exchange occurs through diffusion.
Breakdown of glucose by different pathways
 Respiration in Human Beings
• Human respiratory system starts consists of nostrils, nasal cavity,
pharynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and then lungs. In lungs,
alveoli are present, where exchange between the oxygen and
carbon-dioxide takes place.
Passage of air in Humans
Breathing
• Breathing is the biophysical and voluntary process of inhaling the
oxygen and exhaling the carbon dioxide by the lungs.
• Inhale- When you breathe in, your diaphragm pulls downward,
creating a vacuum that causes a rush of air into your lungs.
• Exhale- The opposite happens with exhalation: Your diaphragm
relaxes upward, pushing on your lungs, allowing them to deflate.
• Respiration is the biochemical process performed by each cell by
using oxygen and glucose to produce energy in the form of ATP and
used by the other organelles to carry various imperative cellular work.
Mechanism of Breathing
Exchange of gases
• Exchange of gases takes place between an alveolar
surface and surrounding blood vessels.
• Alveoli provide a large surface area for exchange of
gases.
• Inhaled air increases the concentration of oxygen in
the alveoli, so oxygen simply diffuses into the
surrounding blood vessels.
• Blood coming from cells has more concentration of
carbon dioxide than outside air and thus carbon
dioxide simply diffuses out of the blood vessels into
the alveoli.
Respiration in Lower Animals
• Lower animals lack a sophisticated respiratory system like
lungs, alveoli etc.
• Respiration in them takes place by simple exchange
mechanisms.
• Animals like earthworms take in gases through their skin.
• Fishes have gills for gaseous exchange.
• Insects have a tracheal system, which is a network of
tubes, through which air circulates and gaseous exchange
takes place.
• Frogs breathe through their skin when in water and
through their lungs when on land.
Why Do We Need Lungs?
Q- Why diffusion is not sufficient for exchange of gases in humans and other animals?
• In unicellular organisms like an amoeba exchange of gases takes place through a general
body surface by osmosis.
• In lower animals like an earthworm, the gaseous exchange takes place through their
moist skin.
• The requirement of oxygen is sufficiently met by these ways.
• But as the animal starts becoming more and more complex, for example, human, the
requirement of oxygen cannot be met alone by diffusion.
• Moreover, diffusion will not be able to supply oxygen to the deep-seated cells.
• This difficulty has led to the evolution of a more complex mechanism of gaseous
exchange and that is the development of lungs.
• The alveoli present in the lungs provide a large surface area required for the necessary
gas exchange.
 Transportation
• All living organisms need a few necessary components like air,
water, and food for their survival.
• On our regular basis, animals ensure these elements by
breathing, drinking and eating.
• The required elements are transported to their body cells and
tissues by a transportation system.
• In plants, the vascular tissue is responsible for transporting the
substances.
 Transportation in Humans
• Transportation in humans is done by the circulatory system.
• The circulatory system in humans mainly consists of blood, blood vessels and
heart.
• It is responsible for the supply of oxygen, nutrients, removal of carbon dioxide
and other excretory products.
• Blood is a fluid connective tissue that transport food, oxygen, carbon-dioxide,
nitrogenous waste etc. Blood contains plasma and blood cells. Red blood cells
carry oxygen throughout the body. Heart is the pumping organ in the body.
• Platelets are blood cells that helps in blood clotting.
• Lymph also known as interstitial fluid is a fluid that that leak out from the pores
of the capillaries.
Heart
• Human heart is 4 chambered, with two
atrium and two ventricles.
• Left atrium receives the oxygen rich blood
from the lungs. While receiving blood it
relaxes.
• Left ventricle pumps oxygen rich blood
throughout the body.
• De-oxygenated blood comes from the
body to the upper right atrium. It contracts
to pump the blood to right ventricle.
• Right ventricle pumps the blood to the
lungs for oxygenation.
• Note: Fishes have two chambered heart,
amphibians and reptiles have three
chambered heart except crocodile which
possess 4 chambered heart. Birds and
mammals have 4 chambered heart.
Blood Vessels
• Blood vessels carry blood
throughout the body.
• There three types of blood
vessels; arteries, veins and blood
capillaries.
• Arteries carry oxygenated blood
and veins carry deoxygenated
blood.
• Gaseous exchange takes place
between blood and cells at
capillaries.
Difference between Arteries and Veins
Double Circulation
• In the human body, blood circulates through the heart
twice.
• Once it goes through the heart during pulmonary
circulation and second time during systemic circulation.
• Hence, circulation in human beings is called double
circulation.
• The force that the blood exerts against the wall of the vessel
is known as blood pressure. Pressure of blood inside the
artery during ventricular contraction is known as systolic
pressure whereas the pressure in the artery during
ventricular relaxation is known as diastolic pressure. The
normal blood pressure is 120/80 mm of Hg.
 Transport in Plants
• Transportation is a vital process in
plants.
• The process involves the
transportation of water and
necessary nutrients to all parts of
the plant for its survival.
• Food and water transportation takes
place separately in plants.
• Xylem transports water and phloem
transports food.
Differences between Xylem and Phloem
Transport of Water
• Water is absorbed by the roots and is transported by xylem to the upper parts of
the plant.
Imbibition, osmosis, root pressure and transpiration are the forces that contribute towards the
upward movement of water, even in the tallest plants.
• Imbibition is a process in which water is absorbed by the solids. E.g. seeds take
up water when soaked.
• Osmosis is a process where water moves from the area of its lower concentration
to the area of its higher concentration.
• At the roots, the cells take up ions by an active process and this results in the
difference of concentration of these ions.
• Transpiration contributes to the upward movement of water by creating a staw
effect.
• It pulls the water column upwards as there is a continuous loss of water from
leaves.
Transport of food
• Transport of food in the plant through phloem via a process such as mass
flow is called as translocation.
• Photosynthates are transported through the phloem.
• Material like sucrose is loaded from leaves to phloem using the energy of
ATP.
• Such a transfer increases the osmotic pressure causing movement of water
from nearby cells into in phloem tissue and the material gets transported
through the phloem.
• The same pressure is also responsible for the transfer of substances from
phloem to tissues where food is required.
• Thus the bulk flow of material through phloem takes place in response to
an osmotically generated pressure difference.