CBSE Class 10 Science Revision Notes Chapter 5 Life Processes 2026–27

Life processes are the basic activities that living organisms perform to obtain energy, transport materials and remove waste. CBSE Class 10 Science Revision Notes Chapter 5 cover nutrition, respiration, transportation and excretion in plants and animals.

Life Processes explains how living organisms stay alive through continuous internal activities. Plants prepare food, animals digest food, cells release energy, blood transports materials and organs remove harmful wastes.

Use these CBSE Class 10 Science Revision Notes Chapter 5 for the 2026–27 academic year to revise definitions, equations, important topics and process steps. Start with nutrition, then move to respiration, transportation and excretion.

Key Takeaways

• Nutrition: Plants use photosynthesis, while animals depend on other organisms for food.
• Respiration: Glucose breaks down to release energy in the form of ATP.
• Transportation: Humans use blood, heart and vessels, while plants use xylem and phloem.
• Excretion: Kidneys remove nitrogenous waste in humans, while plants remove wastes through leaves, gums and resins.

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CBSE Class 10 Science Revision Notes Chapter 5 on Life Processes: Chapter Overview

Life Processes Class 10 Notes focus on the activities that keep organisms alive. These processes continue even when the organism is resting.

Living organisms need energy for growth, repair, movement and body functions. Food provides this energy, but it has to be broken down and transported to cells.

Important Topics in CBSE Class 10 Science Chapter 5 Life Processes Notes

Class 10 Science Chapter 5 Key Notes are built around four connected processes. Each process explains how materials enter, move, react and leave the body.

These topics connect directly with diagrams, equations and comparison-based questions. Revise each topic with its process flow and function.

Life Processes Class 10 Notes: Nutrition in Plants and Animals

Nutrition is the process by which an organism takes in food and uses it for energy, growth and repair. Class 10 Science Chapter 5 Revision Notes cover both autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition.

Nutrition in Plants Class 10 Science Chapter 5 Notes

Green plants show autotrophic nutrition. They prepare their own food using carbon dioxide, water, sunlight and chlorophyll.

Photosynthesis equation:

Carbon dioxide + Water → Glucose + Oxygen

6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2

During photosynthesis, light energy changes into chemical energy. The glucose formed is stored as starch in plants.

Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Nutrition in Life Processes

Autotrophic nutrition occurs when organisms prepare food from simple inorganic substances. Green plants and some bacteria follow this mode.

Heterotrophic nutrition occurs when organisms depend on other organisms for food. Animals, fungi and many bacteria follow this mode.

Human Nutrition in Class 10 Science Chapter 5 Notes

Human nutrition takes place in the alimentary canal. Food is digested step by step with the help of enzymes and digestive juices.

Saliva breaks down starch into simpler sugars. Hydrochloric acid in the stomach creates an acidic medium for pepsin to digest proteins.

The small intestine receives bile from the liver and pancreatic juice from the pancreas. Bile breaks large fat globules into smaller droplets.

Nutrition in Amoeba and Paramoecium

Amoeba takes in food by forming temporary finger-like projections called pseudopodia. These projections surround the food particle and form a food vacuole.

Inside the food vacuole, complex food breaks into simpler substances. The undigested material moves to the cell surface and is thrown out.

Paramoecium uses cilia to move food towards the oral groove. The food enters the body, forms food vacuoles and gets digested inside the cytoplasm.

Class 10 Science Chapter 5 Notes on Respiration

Respiration releases energy from the food produced or consumed by living organisms. The energy released is stored as ATP.

The first step is the breakdown of glucose into pyruvate in the cytoplasm.

Glucose → Pyruvate + Energy

Aerobic and Anaerobic Respiration in Life Processes Class 10 Notes

Aerobic respiration uses oxygen and releases more energy. Anaerobic respiration takes place without oxygen and releases less energy.

Aerobic respiration equation:

Glucose + Oxygen → Carbon dioxide + Water + Energy

Anaerobic respiration in yeast:

Glucose → Ethanol + Carbon dioxide + Energy

Anaerobic respiration in muscles:

Glucose → Lactic acid + Energy

During heavy exercise, muscle cells may lack oxygen. Pyruvate then changes into lactic acid, which can cause cramps.

Human Respiratory System in CBSE Class 10 Science Chapter 5

Humans take in oxygen through the respiratory system. Oxygen reaches cells, where it helps break down glucose.

Path of air in humans:

Nostrils → Nasal passage → Pharynx → Larynx → Trachea → Bronchi → Bronchioles → Alveoli

Alveoli are thin-walled air sacs surrounded by blood capillaries. Oxygen diffuses from alveoli into blood, while carbon dioxide diffuses from blood into alveoli.

Haemoglobin in red blood cells carries oxygen from lungs to body tissues. Carbon dioxide is more soluble in water and is transported mostly in dissolved form.

Respiration in Plants

Plants also respire to release energy from food. They exchange gases through stomata, lenticels and root surfaces.

During the day, photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and releases oxygen. Respiration continues in plant cells during day and night.

Transportation in Human Beings in Life Processes Class 10 Notes

Transportation in Human Beings involves the movement of oxygen, nutrients, hormones and waste materials. The human circulatory system includes the heart, blood and blood vessels.

Heart, Blood and Blood Vessels in Class 10 Science Chapter 5

The human heart has four chambers. The right side receives deoxygenated blood, while the left side receives oxygenated blood.

Blood contains plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Platelets help in clotting at the site of injury.

Arteries, Veins and Capillaries in CBSE Notes Class 10 Science Chapter 5

Blood vessels carry blood to and from the heart. Their structure changes according to blood pressure and direction of flow.

Double Circulation and Lymph in CBSE Notes Class 10 Science Chapter 5

Double circulation means blood passes through the heart twice during one complete cycle. It includes pulmonary circulation and systemic circulation.

Double circulation keeps oxygenated and deoxygenated blood separate. This helps the body maintain an efficient oxygen supply.

Lymph is a colourless fluid that carries digested fats and drains excess fluid from tissues. It also helps in body defence.

Transportation in Plants in CBSE Class 10 Science Revision Notes Chapter 5

Transportation in Plants takes place through conducting tissues. Xylem carries water and minerals, while phloem carries food.

Xylem and Phloem in Life Processes Class 10 Notes

Xylem and phloem are vascular tissues. They form a transport system across roots, stems and leaves.

Transpiration and Translocation in Plants

Transpiration is the loss of water vapour from aerial parts of a plant. It creates a suction pull that helps move water from roots to leaves.

Translocation is the movement of soluble products of photosynthesis through phloem. Sucrose is transported using energy from ATP.

Excretion in Human Beings and Plants in Class 10 Science Chapter 5 Notes

Excretion removes metabolic wastes from the body. In humans, nitrogenous wastes are removed mainly through the kidneys.

Excretion in Human Beings and the Nephron

The human excretory system includes two kidneys, two ureters, a urinary bladder and a urethra. Kidneys filter blood and form urine.

The nephron is the basic filtration unit of the kidney. It filters blood, reabsorbs useful substances and removes dissolved wastes.

The amount of water reabsorbed depends on the water level in the body and the amount of waste to be removed.

Excretion in Plants

Plants do not have a specialised excretory system. They remove wastes through different parts and processes.

Plants can also remove excess water through transpiration. Some waste products get stored in leaves, bark and old xylem.

Excretion and Egestion in Life Processes Class 10 Notes

Excretion and egestion are different processes. Excretion removes metabolic waste, while egestion removes undigested food.

Important Equations and Process Flow in Life Processes Class 10 Notes

These equations and flow lines help connect the main processes in Chapter 5 Life Processes Class 10 Notes.

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