3D Model of Excretory System and Nephron for Class 10: Kidneys, Filtration and the Diagrams You Must Draw
3D Model of Excretory System and Nephron for Class 10: Kidneys, Filtration and the Diagrams You Must Draw
A 3D model of the excretory system for Class 10 shows the two kidneys, two ureters, the urinary bladder and the urethra as one connected route, then lets you zoom into a single nephron to watch blood being filtered and most of the filtrate being reabsorbed. That zoom is the part the textbook diagram cannot do, and it is the part the exam questions are really about.
This guide follows NCERT Class 10 Science, Chapter 5, Life Processes, section 5.5.1, Excretion in Human Beings. It covers the organs, the nephron, how urine is made, the artificial kidney, the two diagrams you are expected to draw, the mistakes examiners see every year, and where a 3D model genuinely helps and where it does not.
The Excretory System: Four Organs, One Route
NCERT describes the human excretory system as a pair of kidneys, a pair of ureters, a urinary bladder and a urethra. The kidneys sit in the abdomen, one on either side of the backbone. Urine made in the kidneys flows down the ureters into the bladder, is stored there, and leaves through the urethra.
| Organ | Count | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Kidney | 2 | Filters nitrogenous waste (urea, uric acid) out of the blood and makes urine |
| Ureter | 2 | Carries urine from each kidney to the bladder |
| Urinary bladder | 1 | Stores urine until the stretched wall triggers the urge to pass it |
| Urethra | 1 | Carries urine out of the body |
In 3D you see the kidneys against the back wall of the abdomen, the ureters running down to a bladder low in the pelvis. After that, you stop drawing ureters as two short lines that never reach the bladder.
Inside the Kidney: The Nephron
NCERT's comparison is worth remembering: as carbon dioxide leaves the blood in the lungs, nitrogenous waste leaves it in the kidneys, so the basic filtration unit in both is a cluster of very thin-walled capillaries.
In the kidney, each capillary cluster (the glomerulus) sits inside the cup-shaped end of a coiled tube called Bowman's capsule, which collects the filtrate. One capsule plus its tubule is a nephron, and each kidney packs a very large number of nephrons close together.
How urine is actually produced
- Filtration. Blood under pressure in the capillary cluster pushes water and small dissolved substances into Bowman's capsule. This initial filtrate contains waste, but also useful things.
- Selective reabsorption. As the filtrate moves along the tubule, glucose, amino acids, salts and a major amount of water return to the blood. How much water returns depends on how much excess water the body has and how much dissolved waste must go.
- Collection. What remains is urine. It leaves through the ureter, is stored in the bladder, and is passed out through the urethra under nervous control, which is why we can usually choose when to urinate.
Fact check: In a healthy adult, the initial filtrate formed in the kidneys is about 180 litres a day, yet only a litre or two of urine is actually excreted, because the rest is reabsorbed in the kidney tubules. Source: NCERT, Science Class X, Chapter 5 Life Processes, section 5.5.1 (Reprint 2026-27)
That one number is why reabsorption matters.
What the 3D Model Shows That Figure 5.14 Cannot
The textbook nephron (Figure 5.14) is a flat labelled loop. It is accurate and you must draw it, but it hides three things.
- Where the nephron sits. The capsule and first part of the tubule lie in the outer region of the kidney while the loop dips toward the centre, where the collecting tubes converge toward the ureter. The diagram shows a loop in empty space.
- Scale. A nephron is microscopic and a kidney holds a huge number of them. Zooming from whole kidney to one nephron shows why 180 litres of filtrate a day is possible.
- Direction of flow. Blood in, filtrate out into the capsule, useful substances back into the blood along the tubule, urine onward. On paper these are four arrows. In an animated model they are four streams you can follow one at a time.
Students who have traced the flow draw the diagram with the parts in the right relationship instead of as a memorised shape.
The Two Diagrams You Must Be Able to Draw
CBSE questions on this topic routinely ask for one of two labelled diagrams.
Diagram 1: Excretory system in human beings (NCERT Figure 5.13). Label the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder and urethra. Show two kidneys at different heights, two ureters that actually reach the bladder, and one urethra.
Diagram 2: Structure of a nephron (NCERT Figure 5.14). Label Bowman's capsule, the capillary cluster inside it, the tubule, and the vessel bringing blood in and taking it out. Keep the capsule as a clear cup shape at one end of the tube.
Draw each from memory three times, then check your drawing against the 3D model.
Artificial Kidney: What NCERT Expects You to Know
NCERT's "More to Know" box on hemodialysis is a favourite source of two-mark questions. The points to carry into the exam:
- Infections, injury or restricted blood flow can reduce kidney activity, and poisonous wastes then build up in the body.
- An artificial kidney removes nitrogenous waste from blood by dialysis. It contains many tubes with a semi-permeable lining, suspended in a tank of dialysing fluid.
- The dialysing fluid has the same osmotic pressure as blood but contains no nitrogenous waste, so waste diffuses out of the blood into the fluid.
- The key difference from a real kidney: there is no reabsorption in an artificial kidney.
Common Exam Mistakes
| Mistake | Why it costs marks |
|---|---|
| Writing that urine is formed only by filtration | Reabsorption is the second step and is the reason urine volume is so small |
| Confusing excretion with egestion | Excretion removes metabolic waste; undigested food leaving the gut is not excretion |
Where a 3D Model Does Not Help
- The written definitions. You still have to learn NCERT's wording for excretion, nephron and dialysis. The model will not write your answer.
- Drawing speed. Drawing a clean labelled nephron in under two minutes comes from pencil practice, not from rotating a model.
- The plant half. Section 5.5.2, excretion in plants (transpiration, leaf fall, resins and gums, vacuoles), has no organ to model. Read it.
How VidyaXR Fits
VidyaXR is a browser-based 3D learning platform for Indian school science, aligned to NCERT and CBSE.
- Class 10 Life Processes in 3D: rotate the human body's major systems and look inside organs on a phone, tablet or laptop, with no headset. Start with the Class 10 biology 3D diagrams guide and the virtual human anatomy 3D guide.
- Same chapter, same habit: the approach used for the kidney works for the heart too; see the human heart 3D simulation for Class 10.
- Free 14-day trial, no credit card, then Pro plans at ₹449 a month or ₹4,011 a year.
Free Government and Open Resources
- NCERT Class 10 Science, Chapter 5 (PDF): the official chapter is free. Section 5.5 is three pages. Read it before and after the model.
- DIKSHA: the national digital platform has NCERT-aligned explanations reachable from the QR codes printed in your textbook.
- OLabs (olabs.edu.in), funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, offers free Class 10 biology activities that complement the chapter.
Building a Physical Model for a Science Project
If your school asks for a physical model, build it after using a 3D one. Shape two clay kidneys, run two drinking-straw ureters into a balloon bladder, and add a short straw urethra. For the nephron, bend one length of wire into the capsule-and-loop shape and glue a bead cluster inside the cup. The 3D reference gets the proportions and connections right before you glue anything.
Nutrition comes first in the same chapter; see the 3D model of the digestive system for Class 10.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a 3D model of the excretory system for Class 10?
An interactive model of the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra in their real positions, with a zoom into one nephron to follow filtration and reabsorption, matching NCERT Class 10 Chapter 5, section 5.5.1.
What is a nephron in simple words?
A nephron is the basic filtration unit of the kidney. It is a cluster of thin-walled capillaries sitting in the cup-shaped Bowman's capsule, joined to a coiled tube where useful substances are reabsorbed into the blood.
How much urine do the kidneys make in a day?
NCERT states that about 180 litres of initial filtrate forms daily in a healthy adult, but only a litre or two is excreted as urine, because the rest is reabsorbed in the tubules.
What is the difference between a kidney and an artificial kidney?
Both remove nitrogenous waste from blood. An artificial kidney does it by dialysis through semi-permeable tubes in dialysing fluid, and unlike a real kidney it involves no reabsorption.
Does VidyaXR cover the excretory system?
Yes. VidyaXR covers NCERT Class 9 and 10 science in browser-based 3D, including Class 10 Life Processes, on a phone, tablet or laptop with no headset.
Conclusion
The excretory system is a short section with a long reach in the exam: two diagrams, one memorable number, and a dialysis box that keeps appearing in question papers. A 3D model gives you the arrangement and the flow; NCERT gives you the words. Use both, then practise the drawings with a pencil.
See the kidney and nephron in 3D before your next test. Try VidyaXR free for 14 days. No credit card, no headset needed.