DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL

DEHRADUN

Class X
Science (Biology)

Instructions:
1. Notes provided in this document, to be done in class notes copy.
2. Assignment pages are accompanied after notes pages which include questions based on
subtopic knowledge.
3. Infographics given for better understanding and need not to be drawn in copy.
4. Go through the links provided for better understanding.
NOTE: Life processes chapter is divided into four sub topics: Nutrition, Respiration,
Transportation and Excretion. This document contains notes and assignment of
sub topic nutrition only.

Chapter-6
LIFE PROCESSES
Sub topic: Nutrition

NOTES

Life: Life is a cell based self regulated complex system of molecules that leads to maintenance,
growth responsiveness and reproduction.

Processes: Processes can be defined as basic actions and functions essential for survival.

Life processes: All the processes such as respiration, nutrition, circulation, excretion etc. that are
necessary for the survival of the living organisms are known as life processes.

- Life Processes includes:

1. Maintenance of protoplasmic structure needed to prevent damage and breakdown.
2. Nutrition
3. Respiration
4. Transportation
5. Excretion

NUTRITION:
It is the process of obtaining and utilising food for meeting various requirements of a living being.

TYPES OF NUTRITION:
a) Autotrophic Nutrition - Green plants, some protists and bacteria are able to manufacture their own food
from inorganic raw materials with the help of energy. It is also called holophytic nutrition.
Autotrophs: Organisms that can manufacture their own food.

b) Heterotrophic Nutrition - Animals, Fungi, protozoans and many prokaryotes cannot manufacture their
own food and obtain it from other sources.
Heterotrophs: Organisms that cannot manufacture their own food.

AUTOTROPHIC NUTRITION (in detail):

1. Photoautotrophs: They are photosynthetic organisms that harness light energy to drive the synthesis of
organic compounds from CO2. Ex. Plants, Cyanobacteria (Bluegreen algae) etc.
2. Chemoautotrophs/Chemolithotrophs: They are non-photosynthetic organisms that harness energy from
certain inorganic substances such as H2S,NH3 to drive the synthesis of organic compounds from CO2. Ex.
Nitrifying Bacteria, Sulfur Bacteria etc.

Nutritional Type Energy Source Carbon source Example

Photoautotrophs Sunlight CO2 Plants, blue green algae

Chemoautotrophs Inorganic Chemicals CO2 Nitrifying bacteria,

Sulfur bacteria
PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
(Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO5-EHkxuf4)
It is a biochemical process of manufacturing organic food from carbon dioxide and water with the help of
sunlight and chlorophyll.

EVENTS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
1. Absorption of light energy by chlorophyll.
2. Conversion of light energy to chemical energy and splitting of water molecules into hydrogen and
oxygen.
3. Reduction of carbon dioxide to carbohydrates.

Important points:
- Stored form of carbohydrate in plants is Starch.
- Stored form of carbohydrate in animals is Glycogen.
- Photosynthesis consist of two phases:
1. Light phase during which energy in the form of ATP and NADPH (Chemical energy) get
formed.
2. Dark phase during which carbon dioxide is reduced to carbohydrates.)

CROSS SECTION OF A LEAF:

STOMATA:
These are tiny pores present on the surface of the leaves. It consists of a stomatal pore guarded by a guard
cell.
Opening and closing of stomata is regulated by the gain or loss of turgidity of their guard cells. When the
guard cells absorb water, they swell up and become turgid, opening stomatal pore. On the other hand when
guard cells lose water, they become flaccid, closing stomatal pore. Therefore movement of water molecules
in and out of guard cells regulates opening and closing of stomata.

Functions of Stomata:
a) Exchange of gases.
b) Transpiration (loss of water in the form of vapours through stomata).

HETEROTROPHIC NUTRITION (In detail):

Heterotrophic nutrition is of following types:
1. Holozoic Nutrition - It is a type of nutrition when an organism takes in whole food and breaks it inside
the body. Ex. Amoeba, Human beings.

2. Saprophytic Nutrition - It is a nutrition in which organisms feed on dead and decaying matter. In this
they breakdown the food outside the body and absorb it. Ex. Fungi.

3. Parasitic Nutrition - It is a nutrition in which organisms feed on living hosts and harm them. Ex. Cuscuta
(Amar bel).

NUTRITION IN AMOEBA:
(Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLlmA1hMRr0)
Amoeba follows holozoic mode of nutrition in which the solid food particles are ingested which are then
acted upon by enzymes and digested.

Steps of Nutrition in Amoeba:

1. Amoeba engulf food by temporary finger like projections of its body surface called pseudopodia
2. When a pseudopodium fuses with a particle, it forms a food vacuole.
3. Complex substances are broken down into simple substances inside the food vacuole. These simple
substances are then diffused to cytoplasm.
4. The remaining unwanted material is taken to the cell surface and is thrown out.

NUTRITION IN HUMAN BEINGS:

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDGKKn7guoA

Human beings have an alimentary canal where digestion of food takes place. It starts from the mouth and
ends at anus. The food to be digested includes carbohydrates, proteins and fats as nutrition.
The part of alimentary canal are as follow:
1. Mouth
2. Pharynx
3. Oesophagus
4. Stomach
5. Small Intestine
6. Large intestine
7. Anus.

Mouth: It is the beginning of the digestive tract, which consist of buccal cavity, tongue and teeth. Digestion
starts here as soon as we take the first bite of a meal. Chewing breaks the food into pieces and saliva mixes
with the food to begin the process of breaking it down into a simpler form that our body can absorb and use.
Note: Saliva contains an enzyme called salivary amylase (ptyalin) that digest carbohydrates.

Pharynx: Pharynx also called throat is the next destination for food. From here the food travels to the
oesophagus.

Oesophagus: it is a muscular tube extending from the Pharynx to the stomach. By means of a series of
contractions called peristalsis, the oesophagus delivers food to the stomach. Just before the connection to the
stomach, there is a zone of sphincter muscles that act as a valve to stop the movement of food back from
stomach to oesophagus.

Stomach: - It is a J shaped organ.

- pH in stomach is: 1.5 to 2.5 (Acidic)
- The stomach wall contains gastric glands that release HCl, Pepsin and Mucus.
- Role of acid:
i) To activate enzyme pepsin

HCl
Pepsinogen (inactive enzyme) → Pepsin (active enzyme).

ii) To soften the food.

iii) To kill bacteria.

- Role of Mucus: To protect inner lining of the stomach.

- Role of Pepsin: To digest Proteins.

Pepsin
Proteins → Amino acids

Small Intestine: - It is the longest part of the alimentary canal which is extensively coiled.
- Parts of small intestine - Duodenum, Jejunum and Ileum
- pH in Small intestine - Alkaline
- Digestion of Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats take place in the small intestine.

Amylase
1. Carbohydrates → Glucose

Trypsin
2. Protein → Aminoacids
Lipase
 3. Fats → Fatty acids + Glycerol
- Therefore secretions in the small intestine contain enzymes that digest food.
Amylase digest complex carbohydrates to glucose, Trypsin digest proteins
to amino acids and Lipase digest fats to fatty acids and glycerol.
- Small intestine receives the secretions of the liver and pancreas.
- Villi are present in small intestine that are finger like projections present in
the inner lining of the small intestine to increase surface area for absorption.

Large Intestine: It is the last part of the digestive system where the absorption of water from the remaining
indigestible food matter takes place and then the useless waste material is passed out from the body through
Anus. The parts of the large intestine are cecum, colon and rectum.

Anus: The opening of the rectum to the outside of the body from where the undigested food material
egested out.

Role of Liver, Pancreas and gallbladder in Digestion:

Liver: Liver forms bile juice. Bile juice gets stored in the gallbladder and secreted into the small intestine
at the time of digestion. Bile juice is alkaline in nature. It makes the food alkaline( food coming from the
stomach is acidic) for the pancreatic enzyme to act. Moreover it helps in emulsification of fats.
Emulsification of fats: The bile salts present in bile juice break the fats into small globules that can be
easily acted upon by enzymes.

Pancreas: Pancreas secretes pancreatic juice in the small intestine. Pancreatic juice contains enzymes like
Trypsinogen, pancreatic lipase, pancreatic amylase to digest proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the small
intestine.

Gallbladder: Gallbladder stores bile juice formed by the liver and secrete it into the small intestine when
food enters the small intestine.

(Note: In the stomach it is the pepsin enzyme that digest protein and in the small intestine it is the
trypsin enzyme that digest protein.)
Important point: Small intestine is the longest in herbivores because herbivores eat plants and plants
contain cellulose( carbohydrate) which takes time to digest. On the other hand Carnivores have shorter small
intestines as they eat animals not plants.
 Delhi Public School Dehradun
Class- X
Subject- Biology
Chapter- Life Processes
Topic- Nutrition
ASSIGNMENT WORKSHEET

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Which of the following statements about the autotrophs is incorrect:
a) They synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight
and chlorophyll.
b) They store carbohydrates in the form of starch
c) They convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates in the absence of sunlight.
d) They constitute the first trophic level in food chains.
2. In which of the following groups of organisms, food materials are broken down outside the
body and absorbed?
a) Mushroom, green plants, Amoeba
b) Yeast, mushroom, bread mould
c) Paramecium, Amoeba, Cuscuta
d) Cuscuta, lice, tapeworm
3. Select the correct statement:
a) Heterotrophs do not synthesize their food.
b) Heterotrophs utilize solar energy for photosynthesis.
c) Heterotrophs synthesize their own food
d) Heterotrophs are capable of converting carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates
4. Which is the correct sequence of parts in the human alimentary canal?
a) Mouth →stomach→small intestine→oesophagus→large intestine
b) Mouth→oesophagus→stomach→large intestine→small intestine
c) Mouth→stomach→oesophagus→small intestine→large intestine
d) Mouth→oesophagus→stomach→small intestine→large intestine
5. The inner lining of the stomach is protected by one of the following from hydrochloric acid.
a) Pepsin b) Mucus c) Salivary amylase d) Bile
6. Which part of the alimentary canal receives bile from the liver?
a) Stomach b) Small intestine c) Large intestine d) Oesophagus
7. In which part of the alimentary canal food is finally digested?
a) Stomach b) Mouth cavity c) Large intestine d) Small intestine
8. One of the following organisms have Parasitic mode of nutrition:
a) Mushroom b) Plasmodium c) Algae d) Grasshopper
9. Which of the following has the longest small intestine:
a) Fox b) Lion c) Frog d) Goat
10. Two of the following organisms have a holozoic mode of nutrition:
a) Amoeba and Mushroom b) Plasmodium and Yeast
c) Amoeba and Paramecium d) Paramecium and Fleas
11. The enzyme amylase is secreted by which of the following glands in the human body:
a) Pancreas and Liver b) Salivary glands
 c) Pancreas and Gallbladder d) Salivary glands and Pancreas
12. Where are carbohydrates digested first in alimentary canal:
a) Small Intestine b) Oesophagus c) Mouth d) Stomach
13. The oxygen liberated during photosynthesis by green plants comes from:
a) Glucose b) Water c) Carbon dioxide d) Chlorophyll

Short Answer Type Questions:

14. Give an example of each:
a) Saprophyte
b) Parasite
c) Holozoic
d) Energy food
e) An omnivore
15. State one function of the following:
a) Tongue
b) Teeth
c) Small Intestine
d) Pepsin enzyme
e) Amylase enzyme
f) Large Intestine
g) Gallbladder
16. Name and describe the process in plants that link light energy with chemical energy.
17. Name and define the organisms that can prepare their own food.
18. Name and define the cell organelle where photosynthesis takes place.
19. Name the cell that surrounds a stomatal pore. State its function also.
20. Name and define the organisms that cannot prepare their own food.
21. Describe the action of an enzyme secreted from gastric glands in the stomach.
22. ‘Pancreas works as a heterocrine gland’. Justify.
23. What is the role of gallbladder in the human digestive system?
24. Differentiate between Autotrophs and Heterotrophs.
25. Why is the small intestine in herbivores longer than in carnivores?
26. What causes movement of food inside the alimentary canal?
27. Why does absorption of digested food occur mainly in the small intestine?
28. What is Transpiration? State two functions of Stomata.
29. Write three events/steps occurring during the process of photosynthesis.
30. What do you understand by the term nutrient? Name the five important nutrients present in
our food.