life processes

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Cards (53)

  • Life processes are the processes that perform maintenance functions in living organisms even when they are not actively doing anything
  • Energy is needed for these maintenance processes to prevent damage and breakdown
  • Energy for life processes comes from outside the body of the organism
  • The process of transferring energy from outside the body to the inside is called nutrition
  • Additional raw material from outside is needed for the growth of the body size of organisms
  • Most food sources for organisms are carbon-based
  • Different organisms use different nutritional processes depending on the complexity of the carbon sources
  • Outside sources of energy need to be broken down or built up in the body and converted to a uniform source of energy for various molecular movements and growth
  • Chemical reactions in the body, such as oxidising-reducing reactions, are necessary to break down molecules
  • Many organisms use oxygen sourced from outside the body for oxidising-reducing reactions
  • The process of acquiring oxygen from outside the body and using it in the breakdown of food sources for cellular needs is called respiration
  • In multi-cellular organisms, specialised tissues are needed for the uptake of food and oxygen
  • A transportation system is required in multi-cellular organisms to carry food and oxygen from one place to another in the body
  • Waste byproducts created from chemical reactions in the body need to be removed and discarded outside the body by a process called excretion