Nutrition Processes Quiz

Nutrition - A Life Process

Nutrition is one of the essential life processes that allows organisms to acquire the food required for their nourishment and sustenance. It is a pivotal biological process that helps living beings to obtain their energy from various sources. Nutrients are the substances that provide nutrition based on body requirements. The mode of nutrition varies from one species to another, with different types of organisms utilizing different sources of food and energy.

Autotrophic Nutrition

Autotrophic nutrition is the process in which organisms synthesize their food from simple inorganic substances like carbon dioxide and water, in the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll. Green plants and some bacteria, for example, exhibit autotrophic nutrition, synthesizing their food through photosynthesis. This mode of nutrition is called the autotrophic mode of nutrition.

Heterotrophic Nutrition

Heterotrophic nutrition is the process in which organisms get their food directly or indirectly from plants. All animals, fungi, and some bacteria depend on plants and other organisms for food. The three main types of heterotrophic nutrition are saprophytic, parasitic, and holozoic nutritions.

Saprophytic Nutrition

Saprophytic nutrition is the process in which organisms obtain their food from dead and decaying organisms. They break down the food material outside their body and then absorb it. Examples of organisms that exhibit saprophytic nutrition include mushrooms, bread mould, yeast, and some bacteria.

Parasitic Nutrition

Parasitic nutrition is the process in which organisms get their food from living organisms (host) without killing them. Examples of organisms that exhibit parasitic nutrition include cuscuta, orchids, ticks, lice, leeches, round worm, tape worm, and plasmodium.

Holozoic Nutrition

Holozoic nutrition is the process in which organisms take food directly and then digest and absorb it. Examples of organisms that exhibit holozoic nutrition include amoeba, paramaecium, birds, fishes, and humans.

Nutrition in Plants

Plants acquire their food through the process of photosynthesis, which involves the conversion of light energy into chemical energy, splitting of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, and reduction of carbon dioxide to carbohydrates. Chlorophyll, the green pigment present in the leaves, is responsible for this process. The food prepared is carbohydrate, which is stored in the form of starch, and oxygen is released as a byproduct. Stomata, tiny pores present in the leaves, facilitate the exchange of gases for photosynthesis to take place.

In conclusion, nutrition is a fundamental life process that allows organisms to acquire the food and energy required for their growth, maintenance, and repair. The mode of nutrition varies among different species, with autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition being the two main types. Understanding these processes is crucial for understanding the overall functioning and survival of living organisms on our planet.