Download Life Functions or Processes

Life Functions or
Processes
Life Functions or Processes
 1. Nutrition: the obtaining & processing of
nutrients by an organism for its use
(autotrophic vs. heterotrophic vs.
chemosynthesis).
 Autotrophic – organisms that are able to
synthesize their own food.
 Heterotrophic – organisms that must obtain
their energy by consuming other organisms.
 Chemosynthesis – organisms (bacteria) that can
use certain chemicals present in the
environment to make their own food.
(a) ingestion – food
intake by an organism
(b) digestion –
breakdown of complex
foods to simpler foods by
an organism
(c) absorption – the
process of absorbing
digested materials into
the bloodstream.
(d) assimilation – using
absorbed materials to
build new structures
within the body.
Life Functions or Processes
 2. Transport :
[Circulation] distribution
of materials within an
organism. Oxygen is
delivered to every cell
within your body by the
circulatory system.
 3. Respiration : process
used by an organism to
release energy from their
food.
{Ex. Oxygen + glucose
yields carbon dioxide +
water+ ENERGY]
This energy is needed to maintain life.
Life Functions or Processes

4. Synthesis : combining
simpler chemical
substances to form more
complex ones.
[Ex. Starches from simple
sugars]

5. Excretion : the removal
of cellular wastes products.
The kidneys remove urea, a
toxic substance produced
when proteins are broken
down.
Homeostasis : the
maintenance of
internal stable
environment by an
organism ( a steady
state)
~ A disruption in any
organism's system will
result in a
corresponding
disruption of
homeostasis
 6. Regulation :
(coordination) the
control of various
activities of an
organism. Hormones
regulate the
concentration of
various substances in
the human body.
Insulin regulates the
concentration of
glucose in the blood.
Living things make more living things
 Reproduction~ the
production of offspring.
 (necessary for species *to
survive; not necessary for
individual organism’s
survival)
 2 types:
 1. asexual: 1 parent:
offspring identical to
parent
 2. sexual: 2 parents,
offspring not identical to
parents
 * A species is a group of
organisms that can
interbreed and produce
fertile offspring in nature
Living things change during their
lives
 Growth results in an increase in the
amount of living material and the
formation of new structures.(cell
division )
 All of the changes that take place during
the life of an organism are known as its
development.
Living creatures use ENERGY
 Metabolism
 all the reactions your body performs to
make & use energy
 eating & digestion & elimination of waste
 synthesis = building
 cellular respiration = making energy
mitochondria