AI-generated practice question — model-generated for extra practice, not a previous-year CBSE board question.
Answer: C — Reproduction
Reproduction is not a life process, as stated in Chapter 7: it is not necessary to maintain the life of an individual organism, unlike nutrition, respiration, and excretion.
The key passage is from Chapter 7's introduction, which explicitly states that "reproduction is not necessary to maintain the life of an individual organism, unlike the essential life processes such as nutrition, respiration, or excretion." Chapter 5 lists the core life processes as nutrition, respiration, transport, and excretion. Reproduction is studied separately because it is about continuation of the species, not individual survival. Examiners expect students to recall this distinction directly.