NUTRITION IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS
Fig 2.1. Nutritious food
Food is a basic necessity for all living organisms to survive. It is
because food provides energy to all living organisms to do their life
activities. Food also helps them to grow and build their bodies. How
do living organisms obtain their food? Green plants can make their
own food by using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. Animals cannot
make their own food. They depend on plants directly or indirectly for
their food. The mode of taking food by an organism and utilizing it by
the body is called nutrition.
2.1. MODES OF NUTRITION IN PLANTS
There are two modes of nutrition in organisms. They are autotrophic and
heterotrophic nutrition.
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2.2. AUTOTROPHIC & HETEROTROPHIC NUTRITION
Mode of nutrition
Autotrophic Heterotrophic
Nutrition nutrition:
(Auto = self; trophs = (Hetero = other; trophs =
nourishment) nourishment)
Green plants are the only Non-green plants and most
organisms which can synthesize food animals (like us) take in readymade
for themselves and also provide food food from plants and other animals.
for other organisms including us. The The mode of nutrition in which
mode of nutrition in which organisms organisms depend on others for
make their own food is called their food is called Heterotrophic
Autotrophic Nutrition and such Nutrition and those organisms
organisms are called autotrophs. are called heterotrophs. eg. All
eg. Green plants. animals, including human beings.
2.2.1. PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Dear children, we shall be
surprised if we could peep
sunlight comes into a leaf
through the leaf’s surface.
Inside, the leaves also have
a wonderful green substance
called chlorophyll.
At the same time air comes
into the leaf through tiny
openings named stomata
and water moves up from
roots below. Fig 2.2 Leaf - (inset) Stomata
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NUTRITION IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS
Sun
Oxygen
Chlorophyll
Carbon dioxide
So, the sun is the ultimate source of
Water energy for all forms of life. Using sunlight
for energy, the chlorophyll changes
Fig 2.3. Photosynthesis chart
water and carbon dioxide into food for
Imagine what would happen if there is the plant.
no sun? In the absence of the sun, there
The process of preparing food with
would be no photosynthesis. Hence, there
the help of water, carbon dioxide,
would not be any food. In the absence of
sunlight and chlorophyll in plants is
food, life would be impossible on earth.
called photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis can be represented by the equation given below
Sunlight
Water + Carbon dioxide Starch + Oxygen
Chlorophyll
ACTIVITY 2.1
When the weather is sunny, let
us put a steel bowl on a patch of
grass. Leave the bowl for 5 days.
No peeking! Lift the bowl and look
at the grass. How is it different from
the grass exposed to sunlight? Fig 2.4 Leaves of various colours
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2.2.2. OTHERMODES OFNUTRITION
IN PLANTS
There are some non-green plants
which cannot prepare their own food.
They take readymade food prepared by
other plants. They follow heterotrophic
nutrition. They may be saprophytes,
parasites, insectivorous plants etc.
ACTIVITY 2.2
Fig 2.6 Mushroom
Let us take a piece of bread.
Moisten it and leave it for a few Parasites
days. We can see the cotton like Shall we look at the picture 2.7
mass growing on it. What is it?
carefully. we can see yellow coloured
tubular structures coiling around the
stem of a tree. This is a plant called
cuscuta. It cannot synthesize food.
As it lacks chlorophyll, it depends on
the tree on which it is climbing for food.
The plant which provides food is called
host and the plant which consumes it
is called parasite.
Fig 2.5 Bread mould
Saprophytes
Sometimes we see umbrella-like
structures growing on decaying matter
on the road side during the rainy
season. What are they? How do they
get their nutrients?
These organisms are called fungi.
They grow on dead organic matter.
They produce digestive enzymes on the
dead matter and change it into simple
nutrients. They absorb the nutrients
in dissolved form (solution) and utilize
it. Such a mode of nutrition is called
saprotrophytic nutrition and those
plants are called saprotrophytes.
eg: mushroom, bread mould.
Fig 2.7. Parasite cuscuta (Sadathari)
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NUTRITION IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS
(Insect entering)
(Insect trapped)
Fig 2.8. Nepenthes (pitcher plant)
Insectivorous Plants
We know that many insects eat plants, but we shall be surprised to know
that some plants eat insects.
Let us observe the picture 2.8
eat insects because their soil does not have certain nutrients like nitrogen for
them to grow.
Symbiotic Plants
There is yet another mode of
nutrition in which two different types of
organisms live together and mutually
help each other for nutrition. Lichens
are organisms that consist of a fungus
and alga. The algae gives food to the
fungus and the fungus absorbs water
and minerals and gives to algae. Here,
both the organisms help mutually.
The phenomenon by which two
different organisms live together for
mutual help is called symbiosis. The
organisms are called symbionts. Fig 2.9. Lichens
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2.3. NUTRITION IN ANIMALS:
Let us observe machines like a car, bus or a train etc. How do they work?
They get energy to do work from fuels. Our body is also a machine. We get
energy from the food that we eat. Food contains not only energy but also
the raw materials needed for body’s growth, maintenance and repair. Mostly
animals take in solid food. This mode of nutrition is called holozoic nutrition.
Fig 2.10 Ingestion
1. Ingestion
The process of taking food into the body is called ingestion. The mode
2. Digestion
The process of breaking down of complex food into simple food with
the help of enzymes is called digestion.
3. Absorption
The process by which the digested food passes into the villi of the wall
of the intestine is called absorption.
4. Assimilation
The ways in which the absorbed food is utilized in cells is called
assimilation.
5. Egestion
The removal of undigested food through anus is called egestion.
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NUTRITION IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS
2.4. NUTRITION IN AMOEBA
Amoeba is a unicellular
organism. It lives in the Food
stagnant water bodies. It feeds
on microscopic organisms.
Though amoeba is a one-cell
animal, it takes in solid food
through its body surface. So
the mode of nutrition is holozoic.
False feet
Whenever the food touches
the body surface of amoeba, it
engulfs the food with the help
of pseudopodia (false feet) and
forms the food vacuole. The
Fig 2.11 Ingestion of food in Amoeba
food is digested with the help of
Mouth
enzymes inside the food vacuole.
The digested food reaches the We ingest the food into mouth cavity
through mouth. Mouth cavity contains teeth,
entire cell by diffusion. Amoeba
tongue and salivary glands.
uses the food for getting energy,
Teeth
making proteins for growth, etc.
Teeth help us to cut the food into small
The undigested food is thrown
pieces, chew and grind it.
out of the body through its body
Salivary Glands
surfaces.
There are three pairs of salivary glands in
2.5. HUMAN DIGESTIVE our mouth. These glands secrete a watery
SYSTEM
that we can easily swallow it. It contains an
Think of any food that you enzyme called amylase which helps in the
like, a sweet, a fruit etc. Let us digestion of starch
eaten. It passes through the Tongue
digestive system. This system is The tongue is an organ of taste. It helps
made up of mouth, oesophagus, to mix the food with saliva and make it wet.
stomach, small intestine, large It also helps in rolling and pushing the food
intestine and anus. while swallowing.
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BIOLOGY
Stomach
Stomach is a bag-like structure
where the food is further digested. The
Mouth food is churned. Stomach secretes
digestive juice called gastric juice
which helps to digest food.
Oesophagus Small Intestine
It is a very long tube and is about
7 metre in length. Here the food is
mixed with bile juice, pancreatic juice
and intestinal juice. These juices help
Liver Stomach
in completing the digestion.
Gall Bladder At the end of digestion,
Pancreas carbohydrates are broken down into
glucose and fructose, proteins into
amino acids and fats into fatty acids
and glycerol. This digested food is
absorbed by the villi in the small
Large Intestine intestine.
Small Anus
Intestine
Large Intestine
Appendix It is about 1.5 metre in length and
helps in absorbing water. It is the place
for temporary storage of undigested food.
Digestion does not take place here.
Fig 2.12. Digestive System of man Anus
MORE TO KNOW The undigested food (faecal matter)
is eliminated through anus and the
Food takes an average of 24 hours to
process is called egestion.
pass all the way through the digestive
system.
in our digestive system.
Oesophagus
Food in the digestive system moves
It is a tube which connects the from the oesophagus to the anus by
mouth and stomach. It is also known rhythmic contraction and expansion of
as food pipe. It helps to pass the food the wall of the digestive system. This
from the mouth to the stomach. movement is called peristalsis.
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NUTRITION IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS
ACTIVITY 2.3
Marble
To demonstrate peristalsis.
1. Take a rubber tube and wet it inside.
2. The tube represents the food pipe.
3. Put many marbles into the tube.
4. The marbles represent food.
Rubber
5. Squeeze the rubber tube from the top
tube
with your hand in a forward direction.
6. You can observe a kind of wave-like
motion in the rubber tube.
7. This movement represents peristalsis.
2.5.1. TYPES OF TEETH
We all have two sets of
set of teeth grows when a baby
is about one year old. This set
of teeth is called milk teeth.
They are twenty in number.
Milk teeth stay in a child up to
the age of seven to eight years.
When the milk teeth fall off, a
new set of teeth grow. They
are called permanent teeth. molar
They are thirty-two in number.
Of these, sixteen are in the
upper jaw and sixteen are in premolar
the lower jaw. All the teeth in
our mouth are not the same. canine
There are four types of teeth. incisor
They are incisors, canines,
premolars and molars.
Fig 2.13. Types of Teeth
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Incisors: These are chisel shaped ACTIVITY 2.4
teeth at the front of the mouth. They
Let us take any fruit. Enjoy eating it.
are eight in number. Four are present
in each jaw. These are used for biting
the food. Function Teeth
Canines: These are sharp and Biting
pointed teeth. They are four in number
and two are present in each jaw. Tearing and cutting
Canines are used for cutting and
Chewing and grinding
tearing of food.
Premolars: These are large teeth
behind canines on each side. They
have large surface. They are eight in
number and four are present in each
jaw. They help in chewing and grinding
the food.
Molars: These are very large teeth
present just behind the premolars.
They have more surface area than
premolars. They are used for chewing
“Valli... are there animals
and grinding of food like premolars.
without teeth?”
They are twelve in number and six are
“Yes Selva, Bluewhale, the
present in each jaw.
largest mammal does not have
Tooth Care teeth.
Permanent teeth serve for life time.
They are not replaced like the milk MORE TO KNOW
teeth. Hence, great care should be
Interesting facts about teeth in other
taken for keeping the teeth clean. animals.
The enamel in the teeth of children is 1. Birds have no teeth.
much thinner than on the teeth of adults. 2. Rats have continuously growing
So, teeth of children are more liable to teeth.
decay than those of adults. Children 3. The tusks of elephants are
should avoid very cold or very hot food. actually incisors that have
They should brush twice a day. Teeth become very long.
should not be rubbed with hard things 4. Very few adult humans have all
like brick powder. the 32 teeth.
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NUTRITION IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS
2.6. RUMINANTS
Shall we observe some grass eating animals such as goat, cow and buffalo.
They keep on chewing even when they are not eating or at rest. They have an
interesting digestive system. In fact they eat grass hurriedly and swallow quickly
rumen.
rumen
cud
stomach
caecum
intestine
Fig 2.14 Ruminant - Cow
In the rumen, the grass is fermented contains some bacteria which produce
with the help of certain bacteria and the an enzyme called cellulase which digest
partially digested grass is called cud. the cellulose.
Later, the cud is brought back to the ACTIVITY 2.5
mouth in small quantities and the animal
chews it. The process of chewing the From the given list of animals, shall
cud is called rumination. Animals which
non-ruminants:
chew the cud are called ruminants.
Grass is rich in cellulose which is Bison, deer, horse, camel, rabbit,
and donkey.
a kind of carbohydrate. Herbivorous
animals can digest it. The other
MORE TO KNOW
animals and humans cannot digest
cellulose. There is a sac-like structure A Cow makes 40,000 to 60,000 jaw
called caecum between the small and movements per day while it keeps
large intestine in ruminants. This sac on chewing and rechewing.
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EVALUATION
1. From the given list of living things list out the autotrophs and heterotrophs.
grass, snake, neem tree, man, mushroom, amoeba, mango tree, cabbage,
S.No. AUTOTROPHS HETEROTROPHS
1.
2.
3.
4.
2. Fill in the boxes with the given words to complete the equation for
photosynthesis.
water, starch, oxygen, sunlight, carbon dioxide, chlorophyll.
+ +
3. Given below is a list of food items with their constituents. In the table given
below write the names of the food that you took yesterday and tick the
constituents in it.
Idli Carbohydrates, proteins
Dosai Carbohydrates, proteins
Sambar Protein, vitamin, minerals, fat
Rice Carbohydrates
Egg Protein, fat
Channa sundal Protein
Vegetable poriyal Vitamins, minerals
Vadai, milk Fat, protein
Fish Protein
Millet (Kambu/Cholam) Carbohydrates
Greens Vitamins, minerals
Food you Carbo
Protein Fat Vitamin Mineral
took hydrate
Breakfast
Lunch
Snacks
Dinner
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NUTRITION IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS
4. Observe the teeth of your family members. Count the teeth and record below.
S.No Family member Jaws Incisors Canines Premolars Molars
U
1. Father
L
U
2. Mother
L
U
3. Self
L
U
4. Brother
L
U
5. Sister
L
U
6.
L
2 ; C 1 ; PM 2 ; M 3 x2 = 32
Dental formula of human being =I 2 1 2 3
S.No Picture of teeth Name of the teeth Uses
1.
2.
3.
4.
FURTHER REFERENCE
Books:
Biology(5th edition) - Sylvia.S.Mader, Brown publishers, U.S.A.
How the body works - Steve Parker, DK Ltd, London.
Webliography:
http://www.jbpub.com/biology
www.phschool.com/science/biology/photosynth/overview.htm
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