Transportation in plants

& animals
TABLE OF CONTENTS

01 02

Transportation In Plants Circulatory System

03 04

Excretory System
Ammonotelism, Ureotelism &
Uricotelism
 INTRODUCTION
Food, water and oxygen are vital for the survival of
all living organisms on the earth. Plants and animals
have a well organised transport system within
themselves for the transport of all these materials to
various parts of their body.
01.
Transportation In
Plants
 Transportation of materials in plants
For photosynthesis to occur, plants need water which they absorb from soil through roots, carbon dioxide from air
through leaves and solar energy which is also trapped by the leaves. As leaves are the food factories of plants, water has
to reach the leaves, and the food synthesised in the leaves has to be sent to the different parts of the plant. Therefore, for
the purpose of movement of all these substances, a well- developed transport system is required which is called the
vascular system. There are two types of vascular tissues called xylem and phloem, which are arranged together to form
vascular system. The vascular system is driven by a force that keeps the fluids in motion. The vascular tissues perform
two main functions:

 Transportation of water and minerals from roots to all the aerial plant parts through xylem.
 Transportation of food synthesised in the leaves to all the other plant parts upto the roots through phloem.
Conduction or Transportation of Water and
Minerals
The process by which water and mineral salts are transported
from root and carried upward to the stem, branches,
flowers and leaves through xylem vessels in called
ascent of sap. There are two important force responsible
for the uptake of water and minerals in plants-one arising
from the roots and the other by the leaves from the top.
The mode of transport in different kinds of plants-herbs,
shrubs and trees is almost the same.
 Root Pressure
The roots of a plant are in direct contact with water in the soil. The branching nature of root
hair provide a large surface area for absorption of water and mineral salts. Root cells contain
large vacuoles filled with a fluid, the cell sap. The cell sap has a higher concentration of salt
than the soil water. Such a feature enable the root hair cells to draw water from soil through
a process known as osmosis. Osmosis is the process of passage of water across a
semipermeable membrane (a semipermeable membrane is a membrane that allows certain
molecules or ions to pass through it and prevent others) from an area where there are more
water molecules to an area where there are less water molecules. The continuous absorption
of water by root hair build up sufficient force to push the water upwards through the xylem
vessels.
 Transpiration Pull
Plants loose water through the process of transpiration where water
evaporates through stomata. When water is lost from the leaves either
due to transpiration of consumed in the process of photosynthesis, the
water column becomes greatly stretched and creates a pull This pull
causes the water to move upwards through xylem vessels and it is
known as transpiration pull (suction pull). The transpiration pull is
sufficient to raise water in leaves of the tallest trees.
Xylem forms a continuous network of channels that connects roots to
the leaves through the stem and branches. In this way it transports
water to the entire plant.
 Transportation of food
The food prepared by the leaves is transported to all parts
of the plant in the form of sugars through process known as
translocation. Translocation takes place through the cells of
phloem. Phloem has elongated cells called sieve tubes that
are placed one above the other to form long tubes, through
which food transported. The contents of phloem can move
in the upward as well as in the downward direction,
whereas water in xylem moves only in the upward
direction.
 Transpiration
Large quantities of water are absorbed by a plant for Photosynthesis.
However, all of this water is not used by the plant. The excess water
escapes through the stomata present in the leaves. The process of
losing water in the form of water vapour from plant is known as
transpiration. It creates suction pull, which helps to pull water and
minerals up the plant from the roots. The mechanism is similar to
the pull created by you, when you suck a drink through a straw. As
water is given out by transpiration, more water is absorbed.
Transpiration also cools the plant. When transpiration takes place
more quickly than absorption of water by the root hair, the plant
cells lose more water, due to which the leaves, stem, flowers etc.,
droop. This is called wilting.
 Olympiad Bite
 The loss of water in the form of liquid droplets from the
leaves and other parts of an uninjured or intact plant is
called guttation. It happens when roots absorb too much
water and root pressure causes the water to squeeze out
of the plants onto the tips of the leaves.
 Potometer is an apparatus for measuring the rate at
which a plant draws up water.
 Waste disposal in plants

Plants carry out various life processes due to which many metabolic waste
products are generated. These waste products need to be removed. The
main waste products of a plant are as follows:
 Carbon dioxide: Plants release carbon dioxide which is produced during
respiration.
 Excess water: Water is a by-product of respiration. Excess water is removed
from the plants by transpiration.
 Excess salt: Sometimes plants absorb excessive salt from the soil as it is
mixed with water. Excess salt is deposited in the plant body as crystals
 Rubber, resin and latex: Rubber, resin and latex are the waste products of
many older plants. They are used to make paints, gums and varnishes.
02.
Circulatory System
TRANSPORTATION OF MATERIALS IN
ANIMALS
Like plants, animals also need to transport food, water and oxygen to various parts of
their bodies for their utilisation. They also need to transport the waste products
produced during digestion, respiration, etc. from their site of production to their site
of excretion. In unicellular animals like Amoeba and Paramecium, the single cell
does the function of the entire organism. Food and oxygen are transported
throughout the body by the simple process of diffusion.
Simplest multicellular forms like Hydra and sponges have openings on their body
surface through which water enters in carrying food and oxygen. The waste products
like carbon dioxide and undigested food particles are excreted out of the body from
these openings along with water. Such animals do not require any circulatory fluids
to transport materials, nor do they have a proper vascular system.
 Circulatory System in Humans
In complex multicellular organisms like humans. diffusion becomes
inadequate as a means for distribution of materials like CO2,
nutrients and oxygen in the body. These materials have to travel a
long distance within the body, so there is a special transport system, a
circulatory system to carry the materials from one part of the body to
other. The main parts of this system, with are: blood, the vital fluid
that keeps us alive; the heart, which pumps the blood; and different
types of blood vessels called arteries, veins and capillaries, that carry
the blood to and from different organs of the body.
 Blood
Blood is a type of tissue that is fluid in nature. It flows through tubes
called blood vessels. Blood is made up of billions of tiny cells
floating in a watery liquid called plasma. Different substances carried
by blood are:
 Nutrients to be carried to all the body cells.
 Oxygen to be transported to all cells for respiration.
 Blood clotting chemicals to repair the injured parts of body.
 Antibodies to kill germs.
 Chemical messengers called hormones to control & regulate the
activities in our body.
 Taking away waste products to parts of the body from where they
are removed.
 Components of Blood
In an average healthy adult, the volume of blood is between 4 to 5
litres, Le.. one eleventh of the body weight. The fluid part of the
blood is plasma in which three types of blood corpuscles or blood
cells float.
 Plasma: Plasma is the liquid part of the blood, It is yellowish in
colour and contains about 90 per cent water. It has food, wastes,
enzymes, etc., dissolved in it.
 Blood cells: There are three types of blood cells red blood cells
(RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs) and platelets.

Types of
Human Blood
Corpuscles
 Red blood cells (RBCs)

Red blood cells (RBCs) or Erythrocytes are disc-shaped cells.

They contain a red-coloured protein called haemoglobin. It
is this pigment that combines with oxygen to form a
compound called oxyhaemoglobin and transports it to the
cells all over the body.
When blood reaches cells that need oxygen, oxyhaemoglobin
breaks down to oxygen and haemoglobin. The oxygen is
used by the cells for respiration. Haemoglobin then becomes
free to carry more oxygen.
 White blood cells (WBCs)
White blood cells (WBCs) or Leucocytes are slightly larger than red blood
cells. They are fewer in number than red blood cells. Their main job is to
fight against diseases by destroying harmful bacteria and other foreign
materials. They are able to move on their own. This helps them to pass
through the walls of blood vessels and to reach infected parts of the
body. Leucocytes are of two main types-granulocytes (eosinophils,
basophils and neutrophils) and agranulocytes (lymphocytes and
monocytes).

Platelets
Platelets or thrombocytes are smaller than red blood cells. They help the
blood to clot whenever there is a wound on the body. This blocks the
flow of blood and prevents blood loss.
Blood vessels: Blood vessels are tube-like structures that transport blood
throughout the body. There are three types of blood vessels: arteries, veins Blood Vessels
and capillaries.
1. Arteries: Artery is a blood vessel which carries oxygen-rich
(oxygenated) blood from the heart and distribute to all parts of the
body. The pulmonary artery is an exception as it carries carbon dioxide-
rich (deoxygenated) blood from the heart to the lungs. Arteries have
thick elastic walls to allow stretching and to deal with the high pressure
of blood coming from the heart. They are usually deeply seated.
2. Veins: Blood vessels which carry carbon-dioxide rich (deoxygenated)
blood from the body organs back to the heart are called veins.
Pulmonary vein is an exception at carries oxygen-rich (oxygenated)
blood from the lungs to the heart. Veins have thin elastic walls. The
diameter of veins is greater than that of arteries. These superficially
placed. The blood pressure in the veins There are a series of valves
present in veins. They help to prevent backflow and allow the blood to
flow towards the heart.
3. Capillaries: Arteries branch into finer and smaller blood vessels called
capillaries. Capillaries join to form veins. Thes are typically less than 1
mm long. The capillary wall is so thin that the diffusion of gases and
substances happens easily. The exchange of substances between blood
and the body cells occurs through capillaries.
 Heart
The heart is a muscular organ, which acts as a pump It is
about the size of your fist. It lies in the chest cavity
between the lungs, with its lower end tilted a bit to the
left.
The heart is divided into two halves by a thick wall called
septum. This wall prevents oxygenated blood from
mixing with deoxygenated blood. Each half of the
heart is divided into an upper chamber called atrium
(auricle) and a lower chamber called ventricle.
Ventricles have comparatively thicker muscular walls
than the atria. The heart has a number of valves, that
prevent the backflow of blood from ventricles to atria
and allow the blood to flow in one direction only.
Working of the Heart
The vena cava (main veins) bring deoxygenated blood
from all parts of the body (except lungs) to the right
atrium. The right atrium pumps this blood into the right
ventricle, which then pumps it into the pulmonary artery.
The pulmonary artery transfers the blood to the longs for
oxygenation.
The oxygenated blood is received by the left atrium
through two pairs of pulmonary veins (1 pair from right
lung and 1 pair from left lung). It is then pumped into the
left ventricle. The left ventricle, in turn, pumps the blood
into the aorta (main artery), through which it is supplied
to the rest of the body. The circulation of blood from the
heart to the lungs and from lungs back to the heart is
called pulmonary circulation. The circulation of blood
from the heart to the body organs and from body organs
back to the heart is called systemic circulation.
 Heartbeat
The walls of the different chambers of the heart are made of special muscles
called cardiac muscles. The muscles contract and relax rhythmically to
pump the blood. This rhythmic contraction and relaxation of different
chambers produce the heart beat. One complete contraction and relaxation
of the heart called one heart beat.
Human heart beats about 72 times per minute. This is called the heart rate i.e.,
number of times the heart beats in one minute. But all the heart muscles do
not contract at the same time. The two atria contract first forcing the blood
into ventricles. The two ventricles contract a fraction of a second later. For
this reason. each heart beat can be heard as two sounds. The weak
contraction of atrium makes one sound. This sound followed by stronger
sound caused by the contraction of ventricles. The doctor listens to this two-
part hean beat (lub-dub) using a device called stethoscope. The sounds are
actually produced by the closing of the valves in the heart when contractions
occur.
 Pulse
When the left ventricle contracts, blood moves into the arteries under
high pressure. The walls of the arteries are stretched by this
pressure. When the ventricles relax, the pressure goes down. The
stretching and relaxing of the arteries with each heartbeat is felt
as a throbbing called pulse. The pulse rate indicates the rate of
heart beat. Thus, pulse rate and heart rate are related to each
other. With any kind of physical exercise such as running,
jumping etc., pulse rate as well as heart rate increase. The heart
rate increases during physical activity to supply the body muscles
with more oxygen, which is needed to produce extra energy by
respiration. The heart can beat upto 200 times per minute with
extreme exercise. It is easy to feel the pulse at the side of the neck
or wrist.
03.
Excretory System
 Excretory System
During life activities such as cellular respiration, are known as
metabolism. These chemical reactions produce waste products,
such These as carbon dioxide, water, salts, urea, uric acid, etc.
Accumulation of these water, beyond a certain level is harmful for
the body. So, these from the body. The process of removal of
metabolic wastes from the body is known as excretion.
Excretion in animals: In unicellular organisms like Amoeba,
Paramecium, Hydra, etc., metabolic wastes are removed through
the body surface by diffusion. Earthworms, insects and leeches
have special tubular structures to remove their waste products.
Higher animals like mammals including human beings have a
well-developed excretory system. Excretory system in humans:
In humans, excretion is mainly carried out by urinary system. The
urinary system in humans consists of a pair of kidneys, a pair of
ureters, a urinary bladder, a urethra, and a urinary opening located
at the end of the urethra.
 Kidneys
Kidneys are dark red coloured, slightly flattened, bean- shaped
organs. They are placed against the back wall of the abdominal
cavity just below the diaphragm, one on either side of the
vertebral column. Each kidney about 120-150 gm. They are
protected by the last 2 ribs. Their position is slightly
asymmetrical, the left kidney being a little higher than the
right. Each kidney is composed of large number of coiled
tubules called nephrons. Nephrons are the tiny filtering units of
the kidney. They filter out excess water, salts & urea the blood
as it passes through them. A nephron looks like a small cup or
funnel with a long tube attached to it. There is a mesh of
capillaries in each of these cups. Water and wastes such as urea
and salt filter into the cups from the blood in the capillaries.
The clean blood leaves the kidney, while the wastes flow into
the small tubes of the nephrons. The small tubes join up to
form bigger tubes, which in turn join the ureters. The wastes
removed by the kidneys form a liquid called urine.
 Ureters
They are a pair of narrow, muscular, tubular structures which
connect the kidneys and the urinary bladder. These conduct urine
from the kidneys to the urinary bladder.
Urinary bladder
It is a pear-shaped sac situated in the pelvic region of the
abdominal cavity. It can store about 0.5 to 1 litre of urine. It
receives the urine through ureters from kidneys and stores it
temporarily.
Urethra
The urethra starts from the neck of the urinary bladder and leads
to the exterior by the urinary opening. The act of disposing of
urine is called micturition.
 Urine
The first nitrogenous waste to be formed from the breakdown of protein is
ammonia, a highly toxic chemical. It is quickly converted by the kidneys to urea
which is less toxic than ammonia. Urea is excreted from our body in the form of a
pale yellowish colour fluid called urine. Urine consists of about 95% water, 2.5%
urea and 2.5% other waste products. Sometimes presence of abnormal constituents
in urine indicates that the person is suffering from some disease. When glucose is
present in urine, it indicates the disease, diabetes mellitus. When excessive water is
present in urine it indicates the disease diabetes insipidus. When blood is present in
urine it indicates some tumor, infection or damage of kidney. Hence, urine also acts
as an indicator to find out some illnesses. In case of damaged kidney, an artificial
kidney is used to maintain normal level of water and minerals in the body and
clean the blood of metabolic wastes. The process is called dialysis. Besides
kidneys, lungs and skin also act as organs of excretion in humans. Carbon dioxide
and water vapour produced during respiration are excreted by lungs. Small
amounts of urea, salts and excess water are excreted by skin in the form of sweat.
04.
Ammonotelism,
Ureotelism &
Uricotelism
Ammonotelism, Ureotelism, & Uricotelism
1. The way by which waste chemicals are removed from the body of the animals depends
on the availability of water. Most aquatic animals, e.g., sponges, Hydra, bony fish,
leech, crocodile, etc., excrete the cell waste as ammonia, which directly dissolves in
water. Animals which excrete ammonia are called ammonotelic animals and excretion
of ammonia is termed as ammonotelism.
2. Excretion of urea is known as ureotelism and the animals which excrete urea are
called ureotelic animals, e.g., cartilaginous fish (sharks etc.), frogs, toads, turtles, man
and all other mammals.
3. Some land animals excrete a semi-solid white coloured compound i.e., uric acid.
These animals are called uricotelic animals, and excretion of uric acid is called
uricotelism, e.g., most insects (e.g., cockroach), land reptiles (e.g., lizards and snakes)
and birds.
 Olympiad Bite
 The life span of red blood cells (Erythrocytes) is about 120 days
 The life span of blood platelets is about a week
 The life span of the granulocytes once released from the bone marrow is
normally 4 to 8 hours circulating in the blood and another 4 to 5 days in
the tissues. The monocytes also have a short life span of about 10-20
tours. The lymphocytes have life span of a few days or months or even
years, but this depends on the body's need these cells.
 Heart attack (Myocardial infarction) is damage of a part of heart muscle
following cessation of blood supply to it.
“There's biology in everything, even when
you're feeling spiritual.
— Helen Fisher