Life Processes — Class 10 Science (CBSE) explained

What you’ll learn

1. 1

   Lesson 1: Life Processes and Autotrophic Nutrition

   6 min
   • Visible Movement Is Not the Whole Story
   • Four Processes Keep the Body Working
   • Two Ways to Meet Nutritional Needs
   • Photosynthesis Stores Energy in Carbohydrates
   • Where Does a Leaf Absorb Light?
   • Connect Green Areas with the Starch Test
   • Guard Cells Control the Stomatal Pore
   • Plants Need Carbon Dioxide and Other Raw Materials
2. 2

   Lesson 2: How Organisms Obtain and Digest Food

   6 min
   • Heterotrophs Obtain Food in Different Ways
   • A Single Cell Can Obtain and Digest Food
   • Follow Food Through the Alimentary Canal
   • Salivary Amylase Begins Starch Breakdown
   • The Stomach Mixes Food with Gastric Secretions
   • Complete Digestion Requires Several Secretions
   • A Large Surface Helps Absorb Digested Food
   • Why Dental Plaque Can Damage TeethNot assessed
3. 3

   Lesson 3: Respiration and Gas Exchange

   6 min
   • Use Lime Water to Investigate Respiration
   • Pyruvate Can Follow Different Pathways
   • ATP Supplies Energy for Cellular WorkNot assessed
   • Gas Exchange Depends on the Environment
   • Tobacco Can Damage Protective Respiratory FunctionsNot assessed
   • Follow Air from the Nostrils to the Alveoli
   • Breathing Brings Air to a Large Exchange Surface
   • Haemoglobin Carries Oxygen Beyond the Lungs
4. 4

   Lesson 4: Transportation in Humans and Plants

   6 min
   • Blood Carries More Than Oxygen
   • Follow Blood Through the Heart
   • Two Passages Through the Heart Form One Cycle
   • Blood Exerts Pressure on Vessel WallsNot assessed
   • Vessel Structure Matches Its Function
   • Protect and Complete the Transport Network
   • Xylem Connects Roots with the Rest of the Plant
   • Water Loss Helps Pull Water Upwards
5. 5

   Lesson 5: Excretion, Integration and Practice

   6 min
   • Phloem Moves Materials According to Plant Needs
   • Kidneys Remove Nitrogenous Wastes from Blood
   • A Nephron Filters and Re-absorbs
   • Dialysis Removes Wastes When Kidneys FailNot assessed
   • Plants Use Several Waste-Removal Strategies
   • Organ Donation Can Support a Person with Organ FailureNot assessed
   • Recap: Connect the Processes and Practise

Key concepts

Life processes

The processes that perform this maintenance job are life processes.

Leaf structure and chloroplasts

Chlorophyll is the material inside it that absorbs light energy for photosynthesis.

Heterotrophic strategies

Heterotrophic nutrition is not a single feeding method. Each organism is adapted to its environment and available food.

Complete digestion

The small intestine is the site of complete digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It receives secretions from the liver and pancreas.

Respiration investigations

Changes in that lime water are used to investigate products of fermentation.

Respiratory gas transport

Carbon dioxide is more soluble in water and is mostly transported dissolved in blood.

Blood carries more than oxygen

Oxygen is carried by the red blood corpuscles.

Water loss helps pull water upwards

Transpiration is the loss of water as vapour from aerial parts of a plant.

Phloem moves materials According to plant needs

Sucrose is transferred into phloem tissue using ATP.

Human excretion

Excretion is the biological process that removes these harmful metabolic wastes. Many unicellular organisms remove them by diffusion into surrounding water.

Exam focus

Board exam

CBSE assesses this chapter in the 2026-27 year-end board examination.

Syllabus

Life processes: 'Living Being'. Basic concept of nutrition, respiration, transport and excretion in plants and animals.

Not assessed

These parts go beyond the 2026-27 syllabus and are taught for understanding only: Why Dental Plaque Can Damage Teeth, ATP Supplies Energy for Cellular Work, Tobacco Can Damage Protective Respiratory Functions, Blood Exerts Pressure on Vessel Walls, Dialysis Removes Wastes When Kidneys Fail and Organ Donation Can Support a Person with Organ Failure.

Paper pattern

80 marks, 3 hours, 39 questions in three sections (A Biology, B Chemistry, C Physics); internal assessment 20. Units: I Chemical Substances 25, II World of Living 25, III Natural Phenomena 12, IV Effects of Current 13, V Natural Resources 5.

Question style

About 50% of board questions are competency-focused: case-based, source-based, integrated, data interpretation, situational and application-oriented.

Practice in the app

118 board-pattern questions with marking schemes: 32 multiple choice (1 mark), 16 assertion–reason (1 mark), 28 very short answer (2 marks), 22 short answer (3 marks), 7 long answer (5 marks) and 13 case-based (4 marks).

Sample questions with marking points

Board-pattern questions from the AI Lessons practice set for this chapter. The marking points show what an examiner looks for; full model answers are in the app.

1. Very short answer2 marks

   As urine accumulates, a person feels an urge to urinate but can usually postpone passing urine briefly. Explain how the urge arises and why it can usually be controlled.

   Marking points

   • Urine accumulation expands the urinary bladder, and pressure from this expansion produces the urge to urinate.1
   • The muscular bladder wall is under nervous control, allowing the urge to be controlled usually.1

2. Short answer3 marks

   A terrestrial green plant receives adequate carbon dioxide and sunlight. Explain why functioning roots are still essential. Include the need for water, any two mineral materials, and the role of nitrogen in your answer.

   Marking points

   • Roots absorb water from the soil, and water is required for photosynthesis.1
   • Names one mineral material absorbed from the soil: nitrogen, phosphorus, iron or magnesium.0.5
   • Names a second, different mineral material absorbed from the soil: nitrogen, phosphorus, iron or magnesium.0.5
   • Nitrogen is required for synthesising proteins and other compounds.1

3. Long answer5 marks

   A student claims, "Digestion is complete when food leaves the stomach; the small intestine only stores food." Correct this claim by explaining complete digestion and absorption in the small intestine. Include the contributions of the liver, pancreas, intestinal glands and villi.

   Marking points

   • Bile from the liver makes acidic food alkaline for pancreatic enzymes to act.0.5
   • Bile salts break large fat globules into smaller globules.0.5
   • Pancreatic trypsin digests proteins.0.5
   • Pancreatic lipase breaks down emulsified fats.0.5
   • Intestinal juice enzymes finally convert proteins into amino acids.0.5
   • Intestinal juice enzymes finally convert complex carbohydrates into glucose.0.5
   • Intestinal juice enzymes finally convert fats into fatty acids and glycerol.0.5
   • Villi increase the surface area for absorption.0.5
   • Blood vessels in the villi carry absorbed food to body cells for energy, tissue formation and repair.1

Frequently asked questions

More Class 10 Science chapters

• Chapter 6Control and Coordination4 lessons · 21 min→
• Chapter 7How do Organisms Reproduce?4 lessons · 24 min→
• Chapter 8Heredity3 lessons · 20 min→
• Chapter 9Light - Reflection and Refraction4 lessons · 24 min→

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