Chapter 10: Life Processes in Plants
Plants never eat, yet they grow tall and fill potatoes with starch. In this chapter we test what plants need to grow, discover how leaves make food by photosynthesis with the iodine test, see oxygen bubble from a water plant, watch red ink climb through the xylem, and show that seeds respire just like we do.
In this chapter you will
- show that plants need sunlight and water to grow
- explain photosynthesis and the iodine test for starch
- describe transport through xylem and phloem
- show that plants respire and compare it with photosynthesis
Topics
- How Do Plants Grow? NCERT 10.1
Plants grow by adding leaves, branches, height and stem thickness.
- How Plants Make Their Food NCERT 10.2
Photosynthesis: carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen, using sunlight and chlorophyll.
- Transport in Plants NCERT 10.3
Xylem carries water and minerals up from the roots.
- Do Plants Respire? NCERT 10.4
Plants respire: glucose + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water + energy, in every living part, day and night.
Key words
- Photosynthesis
- making glucose from CO₂ and water using light
- Chlorophyll
- green pigment that captures sunlight
- Stomata
- tiny pores on leaves for gas exchange
- Xylem
- tubes carrying water and minerals up
- Phloem
- tubes carrying food to all parts
- Starch
- the form in which plants store food
- Respiration
- breaking glucose with oxygen for energy
Summary
- Plants need sunlight and water to grow well.
- Leaves make glucose and oxygen from CO₂ and water using sunlight and chlorophyll; starch is stored.
- Xylem carries water and minerals up; phloem carries food everywhere.
- All living plant parts respire day and night, releasing CO₂.