NUTRITION

What is nutrition?
It is the uptake of substances by organisms from which energy will obtained to be used in
maintaining life processes (characteristics of living things)

Modes of Nutrition
These are principles of obtaining nutrients.
Two modes of nutrition are;
a) Autotrophic- whereby organisms (plants) build up all their food i.e. making organic molecules
from simple inorganic substances.
Auto- means self and trophos means feeding.

b) Heterotrophic- whereby organisms (animals) use ready made organic substances as their
source of food. These organic substances are originally from autotrophs
Hetero means different or other.

Why do organisms need nutrition?

They need it to make new tissues for growth and replacement of worn out tissues but most of it is
used to provide energy.

PLANT (AUTOTROPHIC) NUTRITION

Why are plants referred to as producers?
: Plants able to make (produce) their own food through the process of photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is defined as;

 The process by which green plants make their own food using water and carbon dioxide
in the presence of sunlight.
 The process by which green plants fix complex organic substances such as
carbohydrates from inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide and water.

Raw materials needed for photosynthesis are;

 Carbon dioxide
 Water
 Sunlight
 Chlorophyll

How do plants obtain these raw materials?

Carbon dioxide - diffuses through the stomata found on leaves and some stems.

Water – it is absorbed from the soil by the root hair cells through the process of osmosis. Water
moves between the cell walls through to the xylem tissues which is responsible of transporting
water and dissolved mineral salts.

Sunlight – it is trapped by the green pigment called chlorophyll

Chlorophyll – is a green pigment found mostly in leaves and is made by chloroplasts.

The process of photosynthesis can be summarized through the following equations;
Word equation;
Sunlight
Carbon dioxide + Water chlorophyll Carbohydrates + Oxygen

Chemical symbol equation;

Sunlight
6CO2 + 6H2O chlorophyll C6H12O6 + 6O2

The importance of photosynthesis

 Almost all forms of life depend on the chemical energy found in carbohydrates produced
by photosynthesis.
 The oxygen produced by photosynthesis is essential for the process of respiration
 The process of photosynthesis uses the atmospheric carbon dioxide thus maintaining an
ecological balance and minimizes the green house effect.

Although photosynthesis occurs mainly in the leaves, any part of the plant that contains
chlorophyll will also photosynthesize.

The Leaf Structure

When scientists say the something is adapted they mean that its structure is related and suited to
its function. A detailed structure of the leaf which enables it to perform its photosynthetic function
is described below.

 Most leaves are thin thus carbon dioxide can easily diffuse across the short distances to
reach the inner cells
 Intercellular air spaces provide an easy passage for diffusion of gases.
 There are many stomata on the lower epidermis to allow for exchange CO 2 & O2 and
minimize loss of water by transpiration
 There are more chloroplasts on the upper cells (palisade) than on the lower cells
(spongy)
 The branching network of veins (xylem & phloem) provides transport system for good
supply of water to the cells and carrying away of nutrients from the cells.

Leaf Structure
1. Cuticle- this is a waxy layer on the upper epidermis which prevents water loss by transpiration

2. Epidermis- found on the upper and lower surfaces of the leaf. It helps to keep the leaf in
shape and protects the inner parts of the leaf form micro-organisms. Also reduces transpiration.

3. Mesophyll – is the tissue between the epidermal tissues.

a) Palisade mesophyll tissue – Column-shaped (or elongated) cells which contain lots of
chloroplasts to ensure maximum absorption of light. Is the site for photosynthesis.
b) Spongy mesophyll tissue – irregularly shaped cells which fit loosely to allow for easy
diffusion of gases.

4. Vascular bundle – contains the mains transport tissues

a) Xylem vessels – transport water and mineral salts from the roots to the leaves through
the transpiration pull.
b) Phloem vessels – transports manufactured food to growing parts of the part.

5. Guard cells – in most plants there are mainly on the lower epidermis. They surround small
openings called stomata through which gases diffuse in and out.
The fate of glucose following the process of photosynthesis;
The figure below explains how glucose is used after photosynthesis.

Sunlight absorbed by
Chlorophyll to photolyse water
Carbon dioxide + Water
CO2 H2O

CO2 + H2 O2 (released as a by product)

C6 H12 O6

(Glucose)

Proteins used to
Sucrose used
make enzymes,
cytoplasm etc for respiration
Converted to

Oil & Fats Cellulose used

used to make to make
cell membrane cell wall

Testing Green leaf for starch

Background information
The leaf manufactures carbohydrates through the process called photosynthesis. First, plants
manufacture sugars which are later converted to starch for storage in the cells to find out if
photosynthesis has taken place we test the leaf starch.

Apparatus; 2 Beakers, test tube, burner, leaf, white tile, ethanol, water, testing reagent- iodine
solution

Procedure;
Step 1
Boil the leaf for 3 minutes order to break open the cells. This also helps to kill the cell cytoplasm
and make the leaf permeable to iodine solution.
Step 2
Boil the leaf in ethanol (alcohol) for 2 minutes to remove the chlorophyll.
Caution; ethanol is flammable; therefore do not heat it directly.

Step 3
Put the leaf in warm water to soften it. Ethanol makes the leaf hard and brittle.

Step 4
Place the leaf on a white tile and add 3 drops of iodine solution.

Results
If starch is present the decolourised leaf will turn blue-black and if there is no starch it will just
stain reddish brown.

Investigating the conditions necessary for photosynthesis.

- Sunlight
- Chlorophyll
- Carbon dioxide
- Water

These investigations are done using 2 sets of experiments

 The Main experiment – which has all the factors required except the one being
investigated.
 The Control experiment – which has all the factors including the one being investigated.

Therefore the results obtained will be due to absence of the factor being investigated.

1. Investigating if sunlight is necessary for photosynthesis

Procedure;
- A potted plant is destarched by keeping it in the dark for a day. Then the plant is exposed
to sunlight for about an hour with one leaf covered with an aluminium foil to keep light
away (as seen in the figure below).
- Take the leaf that was covered and test it for starch following the procedure laid out
above.
Results;
The part of the leaf that was covered would not change colour whilst the part exposed to sunlight
would turn blue-black.

Interpretation / Conclusion
Since the starch test proved positive only for the part of the leaf that was received sunlight, we
can conclude that sunlight is needed for photosynthesis.
Investigating if Carbon dioxide is needed for photosynthesis

Apparatus; Two potted plants, soda lime, sodium hydrogen carbonate, petri dish, plastic bags
apparatus for starch test

Procedure;
- Two destarched potted plants are covered with plastic bags.
- In one plant place a petri dish with soda lime and the other plant should have sodium
hydrogen carbonate
Note; Soda lime is a chemical that absorbs carbon dioxide whilst sodium hydrogen carbonate
serves to release the gas carbon dioxide.

- Expose both plants to sunlight for 3 hours and then take a leaf form each plant and test it
for starch

Sodium
Hydrogen
carbonate

Results;
The leaf that had soda lime did not change colour whilst the leaf that sodium hydrogen carbonate
had turned to blue-black.

Interpretation;

Since the leaf from a plant with soda lime which served to absorb carbon dioxide did not stain
blue-black, but only that from a plant with sodium hydrogen carbonate which supplied carbon
dioxide we can conclude that carbon dioxide is necessary for photosynthesis.

Determining if chlorophyll is necessary for photosynthesis

Apparatus; variegated plant, Apparatus for starch test.

Background;
A variegated plant is one with uneven distribution of chlorophyll, i.e. it has chlorophyll only in
patches.
Procedure;
- The plant is first destarched and then placed in sunlight for 2 hours
- Take one leaf and test it for starch

Variegated leaf – shown before and after testing for starch

Expected results
The area of the leaf that had chlorophyll would stain blue-black whilst the other area remains
brown.

Interpretation;
Since the leaf stained blue-black only on areas with chlorophyll we can conclude that chlorophyll
is necessary for photosynthesis.

Mineral requirement
Plants also need some mineral ions in order to manufacture other important substances needed.
Mineral ions are absorbed through active transport.

Examples of ions needed by plants;

a) Nitrogen – It is absorbed from ammonium compounds
- Nitrogen is used to make plant protein and when in shortage, it leads to stunted
growth and pale yellow of leaves.

b) Magnesium – absorbed from magnesium ions and it is used in the manufacturing of

chlorophyll.
-Lack of magnesium results in yellowing of leaves (leaf chlorosis) and weak
stems
LIMITING FACTORS
A limiting factor is that factor which directly affects the rate of a chemical reaction if its quantity is
changed.
The raw materials of photosynthesis become limiting factors of the process when they are in less
supply
 Light intensity
 Carbon dioxide concentration
 Chlorophyll concentration
 Temperature

Example;
This figure shows that light intensity only affects the
Rate of photosynthesis

process of photosynthesis up to a certain level, beyond

which the rate of photosynthesis does not change even
though light intensity is increased. This implies that it’s
no longer light that is limiting the process but rather
that; may be;
Light intensity  chlorophyll has been bleached by light
 Chlorophyll is fully saturated with light.
 The process is now affected by other limiting
factors
Rate of photosynthesis

The graph shows that CO2 is limiting the process of

Rate of photosynthesis

photosynthesis only to a certain level, where the line graph

levels off. There may be a high concentration of CO2
available,
> But maybe the temperature is too low & is now the
limiting factor.
> Or may be All the cells are saturated with CO2

CO2 Concentration

The graph shows that temperature is limiting the process

of photosynthesis only to a certain level, beyond which
Rate of photosynthesis

the rate of photosynthesis drops. This shows that

temperature is no longer the limiting factor.
> This maybe because higher temperatures denature
enzymes.

Temperature