Summary
Life Processes are the essential maintenance functions — nutrition, respiration, transportation, and excretion — that all living organisms must carry out continuously to survive and repair their ordered internal structures.
NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 5 covers the fundamental life processes that sustain living organisms. Autotrophic plants prepare food via photosynthesis using CO2, water, sunlight, and chlorophyll, while heterotrophs break down complex food using enzymes. In humans, digestion occurs along the alimentary canal from mouth to anus, respiration releases energy as ATP through aerobic or anaerobic pathways, the four-chambered heart drives double circulation via blood vessels, and kidneys filter nitrogenous waste through nephrons. Plants transport water via xylem (transpiration pull) and food via phloem (translocation), and excrete waste through vacuoles, falling leaves, and resins.
Key points & formulas
- 01Photosynthesis in autotrophs converts CO2 and water into carbohydrates using sunlight and chlorophyll; stomata regulate gas exchange and guard cells control stomatal opening.
- 02In human digestion, salivary amylase acts on starch in the mouth, gastric glands secrete HCl and pepsin in the stomach, and the small intestine completes digestion with bile and pancreatic juice; villi absorb digested food.
- 03Aerobic respiration (in mitochondria) releases far more energy than anaerobic respiration; glucose is first broken down to pyruvate in the cytoplasm, with ATP as the universal energy currency.
- 04The human heart has four chambers enabling double circulation; oxygenated and deoxygenated blood are kept separate; haemoglobin in red blood corpuscles carries oxygen.
- 05In plants, xylem transports water and minerals upward (driven by transpiration pull and root pressure); phloem translocates photosynthesis products using ATP-driven osmotic pressure.
- 06Human excretion: kidneys filter blood via nephrons (Bowman's capsule + tubules), selectively reabsorb useful substances, and excrete urea in urine; plants excrete waste via vacuoles, falling leaves, resins, and gums.
Frequently asked questions
01What are the main life processes studied in NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 5?
The chapter covers four main life processes: nutrition (autotrophic via photosynthesis and heterotrophic via digestion), respiration (aerobic and anaerobic, producing ATP), transportation (circulatory system in humans; xylem and phloem in plants), and excretion (kidneys in humans; vacuoles and falling leaves in plants).
02What is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration?
Aerobic respiration uses oxygen and breaks down pyruvate in the mitochondria into CO2 and water, releasing significantly more energy. Anaerobic respiration occurs without oxygen — in yeast, pyruvate is converted to ethanol and CO2 (fermentation); in human muscle cells during sudden exertion, pyruvate is converted to lactic acid, which causes cramps.
03How do the kidneys produce urine according to the chapter?
Blood is filtered through clusters of thin-walled capillaries in nephrons; the filtrate collected in the Bowman's capsule passes through a coiled tubule where useful substances like glucose, amino acids, salts, and most water are selectively reabsorbed. The remaining nitrogenous waste (urea) forms urine, which travels via ureters to the urinary bladder and is expelled through the urethra.
04Is the NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 5 PDF free to download?
Yes, the NCERT Class 10 Science Chapter 5 PDF is completely free to download on cbseprepmaster.com.
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