Class IX, BIOLOGY, "Need for Food"

Need for Food

Everything needs energy to do some job e.g. to operate machines, electricity, steam, fuels like coal, petrol, wood etc are burned to get energy. Similarly, living organisms require energy to carry out their diverse activities of life. They maintain the complex structure of cells, excrete waste material, and reproduce for continuation of their race. They grow in size during their life span as they are small when born and are large when adult. A considerable amount of energy is required to carry out the functions of life. The organisms, therefore, need to have some source of energy in order to maintain their life. Organisms get their energy from food. The type of food depends upon the kind of organism using the food. Some organisms use inorganic compounds to get their energy requirements. Some organisms use vegetables (plants) while some others require flesh (animals) as their food.
The organisms burn up their food (metabolize) to get a special form of energy called ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) which is used by them to carry out their functions of life.