Metabolism — Science definition
Defined in 2 courses:
- The chemical reactions going on inside an organism; excretion removes their products, which is why material that merely passed through the gut does not count. (Life Science & Scientific Inquiry)
- All of the chemical reactions that take place in a living thing. (Life Science: Biology)
Where it is taught
- Kidneys, Excretion & Internal Balance — Body Organization, Transport & Movement, Life Science & Scientific Inquiry, Grade 7
- Biochemical Reactions & Energy — Investigating the Chemistry of Life, Life Science: Biology, Grade 10
In use
Egestion, passing undigested food out of the gut, is not excretion at all, because that material never took part in the body's metabolism; it passed through.
Kidneys, Excretion & Internal Balance
Metabolism includes reactions that rearrange atoms by breaking some bonds and forming others.
Biochemical Reactions & Energy
Taught alongside
- excretion
- filtration
- reabsorption
- urine
- chemical reaction
- reactant
- product
- synthesis reaction
- decomposition reaction
- ATP