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Chapter – 6
Life Processes
Q 1. Why is diffusion insufficient to meet the oxygen requirements of multicellular organisms like
humans?
Ans. As in multicellular organisms all the cells are not be in direct contact with environment simple
diffusion does not
meet the requirements of all the body cells.
Q 2. What criteria do we use to decide whether something is alive?
Ans. The most important criterion to decide whether something is alive (or not) is the movement. All the
living things
which are alive move by themselves without any external help.
All living organisms perform certain life processes listed below:
(i) Nutrition (ii) Respiration (iii) Excretion (iv) Transportation (v) Reproduction and (vi) All are
made of cells.
Q 3. What are outside raw materials used for by an organism?
Ans. Outside raw materials used for by an organism are :
(i) Food (ii) Water (iii) Oxygen
Plants also use CO2, light energy and water to carry out photosynthesis.
Q 4. What processes would you consider essential for maintaining life?
Ans. (i) Nutrition (ii) Respiration (iii) Transportation and (iv) Excretion.
Q 5. What are the differences between autotrophic nutrition and heterotrophic nutrition?
Ans. Distinction between autotrophic nutrition and heterotrophic nutrition:

Autotrophic Nutrition Heterotrophic Nutrition

Is that mode of nutrition in which an organism Is that mode of nutrition in which an organism
makes (or synthesizes) its own food from the simple cannot make (or synthesizes) its own food from
inorganic materials like carbon dioxide and water simple inorganic materials like carbon dioxide and
present in the surroundings with the help of sunlight water, and depends on other organisms for its food.
energy.
Q 6. Where do plants get each of the raw materials required for photosynthesis?
Ans. (i) CO2 from atmosphere. (ii) Light from sun (iii) Water from soil (iv) Chlorophyll present in
chloroplast found in
green parts of plants.
Q 7. What is the role of the acid in our stomach?
Ans. (i) The hydrochloric acid creates an acidic medium which facilitates the action of the enzyme pepsin.
(ii) Kills harmful bacteria present in food. (iii) Inactivates salivary amylase. (iv) Prevents fermentation
of food.
Q 8. What is the function of digestive enzymes?
Ans. Enzymes break-down the various complex components of food in to simple and soluble components
so that they can be
absorbed easily.
Q 9. How is the small intestine designed to absorb digested food?
Ans. The digested food is taken up by the walls of the intestine. The inner lining of the small intestine has
numerous finger-like
projections called villi which increase the surface area for absorption. The villi are richly supplied
with blood vessels
which take the absorbed food to each and every cell of the body, where it is utilised for obtaining
energy, building up new
tissues and the repair of the old ones.
Q10. What advantage over an aquatic organism does a terrestrial organism have with regard to obtaining
oxygen for
respiration?
Ans. The rate of breathing is slower in terrestrial organisms as compared to aquatic organisms. This is due
to the fact that in
water, the amount of O2 is less as compared to air.
Q11. What are the different ways in which glucose is oxidised to provide energy in various organisms?
Ans. Some organisms use oxygen to break-down glucose completely in CO2 and water. Some use other
pathways that do not
involve oxygen. The pathway of break down of glucose in various organisms is depicted below:

Q12. How is oxygen and carbon dioxide transported in human beings?

Ans. In human beings, a pigment haemoglobin is present in red blood corpuscles which has a high affinity
for oxygen from the
air in the lungs and carry it to tissues which are deficient in oxygen. Carbon dioxide which is more
soluble in water than
oxygen is mostly transported in the dissolved from in our blood.
Q13. How are the lungs designed in human beings to maximise the area for exchange of gases can take
place. The walls of the
alveoli contains an extensive network of blood-vessels.[The alveolar area, If spread out, it covers
about 80 m2 which is
more than our body surface area]
Q14. What are the components of the transport system in human beings? What are the functions of these
components.
Ans. Components of human transport system:
4 Heart
5 Arteries
6 Veins
7 Capillaries.
Heart: Receives and pumps blood.
Arteries: Carry blood away from heart to various organs.
Veins: Brings back blood to heart.
Capillaries: Arteries divide to form capillaries in tissue, through them exchange of various materials
takes place.
Q15. Why is it necessary to separate oxygenated and deoxygenated blood in mammals and birds?
Ans. The separation of the right side and left side of the heart is useful to keep oxygenated and
deoxygenated blood from
mixing. Such separation allows a highly efficient supply of oxygen to the body. This is useful in
animals that have high
energy needs, such as birds and mammals, which constantly use the energy to maintain their body
temperature.
Q16. What are the components of the transport system in highly organised plants?
Ans. The transport system consists of xylem and phloem. Xylem which have vessels and tracheids
transport water and minerals
 from root to other parts of the plant. Phloem which consists of sieve tubes, sieve cells and companion
cells transport food
from leaves to storage organs and other parts of the plant. In xylem, the transport is unidirectional i.e.
from root upward
while in phloem, it is bidirectional.
Q17. How are water and minerals transported in plants?
Ans. Water and minerals are transported in plants through xylem which consists of trachieds and vessels.
In xylem tissue,
vessels and trachieds of the roots, stems and leaves are interconnected to form a continuous system of
water - conducting
channels reaching all parts of the plant. At the roots, cells in contact with the soil actively take up
ions. This creates a
difference in the concentration of these ions between the root and the soil. Water therefore moves in
to the root from the
soil to eliminate this difference. This means that there is steady movement of water in to root xylem,
creating a column of
water that is steadily pushed upwards.
However this pressure by itself is unlikely to be enough to move water over the heights that we
commonly see in
plants. Plants use another strategy to move water in the xylem upwards to the highest points of the
plant body.
Provided that the plant has an adequate supply of water, the water which is lost through the
stomata is replaced by
water from the xylem vessels in the leaf. In fact, evaporation of water molecules from the cells of a
leaf creates a suction
which pulls water from the xylem cells of roots. The loss of water in the form of vapour from the
aerial parts of the plant
is known as transpiration.
Thus transpiration helps in the absorption and upward movement of water and minerals
dissolved in it from roots to
the leaves. It also helps in temperature regulation. The effect of root pressure in transport of water is
more important at
night. During the day when the stomata are open, the transpiration pull becomes the major driving
force in the movement
of water in the xylem.
Q18. How is food transported in plants?
Ans. Food is transported in plants through phloem which consists of sieve tubes, sieve cells and companion
cells. This transport
of soluble products of photosynthesis is called translocation and it occurs in the part of the vascular
tissue known as
phloem. Besides the products of photosynthesis the phloem transports amino acids and other
substances. These substances
are especially delivered to the storage organs of roots, fruits and seeds and to growing organs. The
translocation of food
and other substances takes place in the sieve tubes with the help of adjacent companion cells both in
upward and
downward directions.
The translocation in phloem is achieved by utilising energy. Material like sucrose is transferred
in to phloem tissue
using energy from ATP. This increase the osmotic pressure of the tissue causing water to move in to it.
This pressure moves
the materials in the phloem to tissue which have less pressure. This allows the phloem to move material
according to the
plant’s needs. For example in the spring sugar stored in root or stem tissue would be transported to the
buds which need
energy to grow.
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Q19. Describe the structure and functioning of nephrons.

Ans. Each nephron is a cluster of very thin-walled blood capillaries. Each capillary cluster in the kidney is
associated with
the cup-shaped Bowman’s capsule that collects the filtered urine.
Nephrons filter the blood in order to remove nitrogenous metabolic waste. They also absorb some
useful substances
such as glucose, amino acids, minerals and major amount of water from the filtrate.
Q20. What are the methods used by plants to get rid of excretory products?
Ans. (i) Plants produced carbon dioxide as wastes during respiration and oxygen as waste during
photosynthesis.
(ii) Excess water is removed through transpiration.
(iii) Waste products stored in leaves is eliminated along with falling leaves.
(iv) Some waste products like gums and resins are stored in older xylem tissue.
(v) Plants also excrete some waste substances in to soil around them.
Q21. How is the amount of urine produced regulated?
Ans. The amount of urine depends on how much excess water there is in the body and on how much
dissolved waste there is to
be excreted. If the amount of water and dissolved wastes in body are more than prescribed limit the
amount of urine will
be more and if water and dissolved wastes are less in body, the amount of urine will be less.
Q22. The kidneys in human beings are a part of the system for
(a) nutrition (b) respiration (c) excretion (d) transportation
Ans. (c) Excretion.
Q23. The xylem in plants are responsible for
(a) transport of water (b) transport of food (c) transport of amino acid (d) transport of oxygen.
Ans. (a) Transport of water.
Q24. The autotrophic mode of nutrition requires
(a) carbon dioxide and water (b) chlorophyll (c) sunlight (d) all the above
Ans. (d) All the above.
Q25. The breakdown of pyruvate to give carbon dioxide, water and energy takes place in
(a) cytoplasm (b) mitochondria (c) chloroplast (d) nucleus
Ans. (b) Mitochondria.
Q26. How are fats digested in our bodies? Where does this process take place?
Ans. Digestion of fats takes place in small intestine. Fats entering in intestine are in the form of large
globules. Bile juice breaks
 down these large globules into smaller globules. Afterwards fat digesting enzyme lipase present in
pancreatic juice and
intestinal juice converts it in to fatty acids and glycerol.
Q27. What is the role of saliva in the digestion of food?
Ans. The saliva contains an enzyme called salivary amylase that breaks down starch which is a complex
molecule to give
sugar.

Q28. What are the necessary conditions for autotrophic nutrition and what are its by-products?
Ans. Conditions necessary for autotrophic nutrition are:
(i) Light (ii) chlorophyll (iii) Water and (iv) Carbon dioxide .
By products are:
(a) Oxygen and (b) Water.
Q29. What are the differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration? Name some organisms that use
the anaerobic mode
of respiration.
Ans. Differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration:

Aerobic respiration Anaerobic respiration

(i) Takes place in presence of oxygen . (i) Takes place in absence of oxygen.
(ii) Complete oxidation of glucose takes place (ii) Incomplete oxidation of glucose takes place
resulting in release of CO2 energy and water. resulting in release of ethanol or lactic acid, CO2
and energy.
(iii) More energy is produced (36 ATP). (iii) Less energy is produced (2 ATP)
Anaerobic respiration takes place in yeast, bacteria, parasites etc.
Q30. How are the alveoli designed to maximise the exchange of gases?
Ans. The walls of the alveoli contain an extensive network of blood-vessels which provide a surface where
the exchange of
gases can take place.
Q31. What would be the consequences of a deficiency of haemoglobin in our bodies?
Ans. Haemoglobin is a pigment present in RBC. It has a high affinity for oxygen. It carries O2 form lungs
to various tissues
which are deficient in oxygen. Presence of less haemoglobin will result in less supply of O2 to oxygen
deficient tissues.
Q32. Describe double circulation in human beings. Why is it necessary?
Ans. In mammal and birds the blood goes through the heart twice during each cycle. This is known as
double circulation.
Deoxygenated blood which enters right auricle and then it enters right ventricle from where it is
pumped to lungs for
oxygenation. From lungs after oxygenation it comes to left auricle and enters left ventricle from
where it is pumped
to various parts of body.
Q33. What are the differences between the transport of materials in xylem and phloem?
Ans. Differences between transport in xylem and transport in phloem:

Transport in xylem Transport in phloem

 (i) Xylem transport mineral and water from root to
leaves through stem.
(ii) Xylem consists of tracheids and vessels.
(iii) Transport is unidirectional from root to leaves.
Q34. Compare the functioning of alveoli in the lungs and nephrons in the kidneys with respect to their
structure and
functioning.
Ans. Distinction between alveoli and nephron:
Alveoli
Alveoli have thin-walled balloon-like structure. The
alveoli provide a surface extensively supplied with
blood capillaries for exchange of gases in lungs. CO2
is released in the cavity of alveoli and O2 present in
breathed air is taken by hameoglobin present in RBC
of blood.
(i) Phloem transports food from leaves to root and
storage organs.
(ii) Phloem consists of sieve tubes, sieve cells and
companion cells.
(iii) Transport is bidirectional.
Nephron
Nephron is a cluster of very thin-walled blood
capillaries found in kidney. Each capillary cluster
remains associated with the cup-shaped end of a tube
Bowmans capsule that collects the filtered urine, at
the same time the useful substances present in filtrate
are reabsorbed.