NCERT Class 7 Science Chapter 1: Nutrition in Plants

Nutrition is an important requirement of all living beings. From humans to plants, fishes, and insects. The proper amount of nutrition is what determines the quality of our lives. NCERT Class 7 Science Chapter 1 Nutrition in Plants, this chapter teaches us the crux of this topic. When food is broken down into components, we are familiar with fats, carbs, proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, etc. All these blocks make up nutrition for us humans. They are necessary for our day-to-day functioning.

Plants have the innate ability to synthesize or manufacture their nutrition to create energy. Since humans and animals cannot harmonize nutrients on their own, we are in some way dependent on plants. Therefore, it is very important to take care of our nature, because we all are co-dependent on each other.

 

NCERT Class 7 Science Chapter 1 Nutrition in Plants Introduction

The nutrition for plants is manufactured through minerals, water, and carbon dioxide. Plants are the only living beings that can prepare their food within themselves and simultaneously grow and age. While we as humans require many factors that become a part of our nutrition and diet, plants only require the soil to be moist, the air to be humid, and the sun to be warm enough.

Through the process of photosynthesis, plants manufacture their energy using raw ingredients like sunlight, air, and soil. Various plants perform this process in diverse other ways. Some plants require red soil, and some require black soil. Some plants thrive well in boiling weather, and some plants need humid weather.

May the requirements be different, nutrition in plants is very significant. 

 

NCERT Class 7 Science Chapter 1 Nutrition in Plants Summary

All living organisms require food, water, and sunlight to survive. Living beings utilize energy for their growth and maintenance. So do plants. 

Plants require water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight to create their food and energy.

The process of photosynthesis is how plants manufacture their food. 

Photosynthesis: The process where a plant absorbs the sun's energy through tiny openings like pores on its leaf's surface called stomata, they take water and minerals through the soil up from roots, and with the help of chlorophyll they give out oxygen and carbohydrates thus creating energy for their growth.

Autotrophs: Organisms that can make their food (eg., plants)

Heterotrophs: Organisms that are dependent on other beings for their food (eg., animals and humans)

Saptotrophs: Organisms that feed on decaying or dead matter (eg., fungi, algae, etc.)

Parasites: Organisms that feed on a certain plant making it their host, (eg., Cuscuta)

Insectivorous plants: Plants that feed on insects.

 

NCERT Class 7 Science Chapter 1 Nutrition in Plants Notes

Constituents that make up nutrition in our body are called nutrients, for example, protein, vitamins, carbohydrates, fats, etc. 

Nutrition is when the plant absorbs nutrients and utilizes them for creating energy and food.

When plants make their food from simple substances is called autotrophic. Herein, auto means self, and trophos means nourishment. Therefore, plants that express autotrophic nutrition are called autotrophs. 

We, humans, and animals that take in nutrition from plants are called heterotrophs because we display heterotrophic nutrition. Here, hetero means another.

Photosynthesis: The process of plants absorbing raw materials, sunlight, soil, and water, and transforming it into food and energy for the plant.

On the surface of the leaf, there are small pores called stomata which are surrounded by guard cells. Through these pores, carbon dioxide is absorbed. Along with water, minerals are absorbed through roots. Coming to the sunlight, plants have a pigment that gives the green color called chlorophyll, it helps plants to absorb the sunlight's energy or solar energy. 

The presence of starch, a nutrient component, in leaves also shows the process of photosynthesis. 

With the help of carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight, food is synthesized. This also shows how important the sun is to all of us living beings. The equation of photosynthesis can be written as

Carbon dioxide + Water (with chlorophyll and sunlight) = Carbohydrates + Oxygen

Several fungi obtain nutrition from dead or decaying matter, for example, when a decaying bread is seen with green algae on the surface. They are called saprotrophs. Insect-eating plants are called insectivorous plants. Coming to the soil. Plants require just the right amount of soil moisture and nutrients to grow and thrive well. Some living organisms live together and share both shelter and nutrients. This relationship is called symbiosis. 

Farmers often replenish their soil with manure or fertilizers. This is to help the soil be rich with nutrients. Fertilizers and manures contain nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorous, and many other nutrients. Usually, crop plants absorb a lot of nitrogen, making the soil deficient in nitrogen. This is why nitrogen should be available in a soluble form for plants to be able to absorb it.

There is a bacterium, called Rhizobium, that can perform the task of converting the nitrogen in the air to a form usable by plants. Since this bacterium cannot make food on its own, it lives in the roots of plants like beans, gram, moong, etc., and other legumes and provides them with nitrogen. In return for the nitrogen, plants allow these bacteria to live in their roots, thus creating a symbiotic relationship between the two.

A parasite does not have chlorophyll, it climbs on a plant and digests ready-made food from plants. The plant on which it climbs is called a host. The parasite makes the host deprived of nutrients.

All animals can be classified as heterotrophs since they are dependent on plants for their food and nutrition. 

Plants that feed on insects are called insectivorous plants. For example, a venus flytrap and a pitcher plant. When an insect lands on the surface of these plants, they trap it, absorb its nutrients and digest it. However, the pitcher plant is green, which means it contains chlorophyll, yet it needs insects for the right amount of nutrition. This is because the plant's soil does not have enough nitrogen content. Therefore, to balance the need for nitrogen components, it has to feed on insects.

 

NCERT Class 7 Science Chapter 1 Nutrition in Plants PDF Download

 

NCERT Class 7 Science Chapter 1 Nutrition in Plants Conclusion

In the chapter, NCERT Class 7 Science Chapter 1 Nutrition in Plants, we have learned about photosynthesis, different types or modes of nutrition, and how we and nature are co-dependent on each other.  We all display a symbiotic relationship.

Plants and trees are the heart of the Earth, without them, we have no future. Hence, nutrition in plants is very important and should be well taken care of. For taking care, we must know the basic details of how nutrition in plants happens and what are the essentials. In NCERT Class 7 Science Chapter 1 Nutrition in Plants, we have seen all the required crux.

We have also seen how bacterium hold their significance when it comes to providing the right amount of components to plants like nitrogen through the soil. We're now familiar with organisms that are autotrophs, heterotrophs, saprotrophs, and insectivorous plants. We have also learned the photosynthesis process.