Welcome to Bodhiclasses – your trusted digital companion for concept-based science learning. At Bodhiclasses, we aim to make every topic not just understandable, but unforgettable. In today’s post, we take a deep dive into Chapter 10 – Life Processes in Plants from the Class 7 Science NCERT textbook, decoding each section with clarity and scientific insight.
🌱 Chapter Overview: What Is This Chapter About?
This chapter explores the vital processes that keep plants alive – from making their own food to transporting it and finally using it for energy. You’ll journey through the fascinating mechanisms of photosynthesis, transportation of nutrients, and respiration in plants, all through activity-based learning and real-life examples.
It focuses on how plants function as self-sustaining living beings, without the need to consume other organisms like animals do.
📘 Section-Wise Chapter Analysis: Life Processes in Plants
🔹 1. How Do Plants Grow?
The chapter opens by addressing a curious question: How do plants grow without eating food like animals?
Through an experiment with three potted plants placed in different conditions (sunlight + water, sunlight only, and water only), students learn that both sunlight and water are essential for plant growth.
🌟 Key Concept: Plant growth depends on multiple environmental factors, especially sunlight and water.
Chapter 10 – Life Processes in Plants
🔹 2. How Do Plants Get Food for Their Growth?
📍 2.1 Leaves – The Food Factories
Leaves are green due to the pigment chlorophyll, which plays a crucial role in capturing sunlight to prepare food. This section introduces the basic idea of photosynthesis – the process through which plants make glucose (sugar) using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.
✅ Verified through the iodine test – green leaves show starch presence after photosynthesis.
📍 2.2 Role of Sunlight, Chlorophyll, and Carbon Dioxide
This section uses clever experiments to highlight:
- Chlorophyll is essential – only green parts of leaves show photosynthesis.
- Sunlight is critical – plants kept in dark conditions do not produce starch.
- Carbon dioxide is a raw material – when it is removed using caustic soda, starch is not formed.
🌿 All three – sunlight, chlorophyll, and carbon dioxide – are non-negotiable for food preparation in plants.
📍 2.3 What Is Released During Photosynthesis?
By placing an aquatic plant under sunlight in a beaker, students observe oxygen bubbles, proving that oxygen is released as a by-product of photosynthesis.
📍 2.4 Photosynthesis in a Nutshell
The process is summarized with this word equation:
Carbon dioxide + Water → (Sunlight + Chlorophyll) → Glucose + Oxygen
🧪 Photosynthesis is nature’s way of converting light energy into usable chemical energy.
📍 2.5 Stomata – The Gateway for Gases
Students explore stomata, tiny pores on the leaf surface, through microscope observation. These pores control the exchange of gases, letting in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen during photosynthesis, and allowing oxygen in during respiration.
Chapter 10 – Life Processes in Plants
💧 3. Transport in Plants
📍 3.1 Transport of Water and Minerals
Water and minerals from the soil are absorbed by roots and move upwards through a system of vessels called xylem.
✅ Demonstrated using red-coloured water and white flowers – the red colour travels through the stem into the leaves and petals.
📍 3.2 Transport of Food
The food produced in leaves is transported to the rest of the plant through another set of vessels called phloem.
📌 Together, xylem and phloem form the plant’s transport system – one for raw materials, the other for food.
🌬️ 4. Do Plants Respire?
Yes, they do!
An experiment using germinating seeds and lime water shows that plants release carbon dioxide while respiring. This CO₂ turns lime water milky – a classic test for carbon dioxide.
Respiration Equation:
Glucose + Oxygen → Carbon dioxide + Water + Energy
Plants use this energy for growth, repair, and other life processes.
🧠 Core Takeaways from the Chapter Life Processes in Plants
- 🌿 Plants are autotrophs – they make their own food.
- ☀️ Photosynthesis needs sunlight, water, CO₂, and chlorophyll.
- 🍃 Stomata help exchange gases in leaves.
- 🌊 Xylem and phloem form the plant’s internal transport system.
- 🔥 Respiration in plants provides energy for all their activities.
🧪 Why This Chapter Life Processes in Plants Matters
This chapter lays the foundation for understanding plant biology, ecology, and the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in nature. It also reinforces concepts of sustainability, energy flow, and interdependence between plants and animals.
🧬 Extra Edge: Scientist Spotlights
- Rustom Hormusji Dastur – Studied the impact of water and light on photosynthesis.
- Kamala Sohonie – First Indian woman to get a Ph.D. in plant respiration research and worked on nutrition science.
🌎 Real-Life Applications
- Understanding photosynthesis helps us grasp why deforestation is dangerous.
- Hydroponic farming and greenhouses rely on controlling light, CO₂, and water – all covered in this chapter.
- Helps in crop science, environmental science, and nutrition research.
