C10 - Finite And Renewable Resources

Question 1

What are natural resources

Answer 1

Resources that come from the earth, sea and air without human input

Question 2

How can natural products be replaced

Answer 2

Replaced by synthetic products or improved upon by man-made

E.g rubber extracted from tree sap - man made polymers made which can replace rubber in uses like tyres

Question 3

What does agriculture provide

Answer 3

Provides conditions where natural resources can be enhanced e.g fertilisers

Question 4

What’s a renewable resource

Answer 4

These resources reform at a similar or faster rate than we use them e.g timber, fresh water and food

Question 5

What are finite resources

Answer 5

Aren’t formed quick enough to be ‘replaceable’ e.g fossil fuels, nuclear fuels like uranium and plutonium
Minerals and metals in ores are finite
After extraction many resources undergo man-made processes to provide fuels and materials needed

Question 6

Risks of extracting finite resources

Answer 6

Many modern materials made from raw, finite materials
Have to balance social, economic and environmental effects of extracting finite resources
E.g mining ores is good as useful products made > provides jobs and brings money but it’s bad for the environment and lots of energy is used. Also ruins landscapes > waste and habitats destroyed

Question 7

What is sustainable development

Answer 7

Approach to development that takes into account the present needs of society while not damaging future generations

Question 8

Why is extracting finite resources unsustainable

Answer 8

Uses lots of energy and waste. Making useful materials uses lots of energy too - stop using
If you can’t stop using, develop and adapt processes to use lower amount of finite resources and damage e.g catalysts

Question 9

How to improve sustainability of copper ores (as copper rich ores are short in supply)

Answer 9

Extract copper from low-grade ores

Question 10

What is bioleaching

Answer 10

Bacteria used to convert copper compounds in the ore into soluble copper compounds > separate copper from ore. The leachate (solution produced by process) contains copper ions which can be extracted with electrolysis or displacement

Question 11

What is phytomining

Answer 11

Growing plants in soil containing copper - plants can’t use copper so it builds in leaves. Plants are harvested and dried - ash contains soluble copper compounds and can be extracted by electrolysis or displacement with scrap ion.

Question 12

Why is recycling metals Important

Answer 12

It uses less energy to extract new and it conserves finite resources of each metal and reduces waste.
Recycled by melting and casting into shape of new product

Question 13

How can Glas recycling help sustainability

Answer 13

Reduces energy needed to make new glass and waste
Glass bottles often Reused without re shaping
Other glass forms can’t be reused > recycled
Glass separated by colour and chemical composition first
Then glass crushed and metal to be reshaped for new use - bottles or insulating glass

Question 14

What does a life cycle assessment show

Answer 14

Shows total environmental cost and it looks at every stage of a products life to assess impact it has on environment

Question 15

Stages of a life cycle assessment

Answer 15

1. Getting raw materials - extracting costs lots of energy and can damage environment - lead to pollution
2. Manufacturing and packaging - use of resources lead to pollution and cause carbon monoxide. Also causes waste - how to dispose? Chemical reactions used to make compounds from raw materials produce waste - some waste turned into useful
3. Using product - can damage environment - burning fuels releases greenhouse gases - fertiliser into streams
   How long a product is used for/how many uses - might needs lots of energy to produce, but used for ages
4. Product disposal - disposed in land site - land - habitat loss and pollution - paint washes off into sea
   Energy to transfer waste - pollutants in atmosphere
   Products incinerated

Question 16

Problems with life cycle assessment

Answer 16

Some products or natural resources can be easily quantified.
Some effects of some pollutants can be harder to give a numerical value

Question 17

Selective and biased life cycle assessments

Answer 17

Biased - takes into account the values of the person carrying out the life cycle assessment
Selective - deliberately support claims to company - positive advertising

Question 18

What is potable water

Answer 18

Water you can drink as it’s been treated or is naturally safe to drink

Question 19

What is pure water

Answer 19

Water that only contains H2O particles

Potable water isn’t pure - contains lots of other dissolved substances

Question 20

How is potable water produced

Answer 20

It all depends where you are - rainwater is fresh and can be collected as surface water - lakes, reservoirs) or groundwater - rocks called aquifers trap water underground
Surface water dries up first in warm areas - most comes from ground water

Question 21

Processes of cleaning water (filtration, sterilisation)

Answer 21

Filtration - wire mesh screens out large twigs, them grave, and sand beds filter out any other solid bits.
Sterilisation - water sterilised to kill any harmful bacteria/microbes - done by bubbling chlorine gas through it or using ozone or UV light

Seawater can be treated by desalination - distillation can be used for this

Seawater also treated by using membranes - reverse osmosis. Salty water passed through membrane that only allows water molecules to pass. Traps ions and larger molecules - requires lots of energy

Question 22

Process of distillation

Answer 22

Neutralise water and set up equipment. As flask heats, water will evaporate and enter condenser as steam - drop in temperature condenses steam into water - water collected in beaker and re test pH
Crystals should be in flask

Question 23

Examples of where waste water comes from

Answer 23

Flushing toilet - waste into sewers into sewage treatment plants
Agricultural systems produce waste water including nutrient run off from fields and slurry from animal farms.
Both have to be treated to remove organic matter and harmful microbes before it can be put into fresh water sources

Question 24

Stages of sewage treatment

Answer 24

1. Screening used to remove large materials, twigs, bags, grit
2. Stand im settlement tank and undergoes sedimentation - heavier products sink and produce sludge and light effluent floats.
3. Effluent removed and treated by biological aerobic digestion where air pumped through water to encourage aerobic bacteria to break down organic matter and other microbes and moved into fresh water
4. Sludge removed into large tank - broken down by bacteria in anaerobic digestion - reads down organic matter in sludge releasing methane gas in process - gas used as energy source and remaining waste as fertiliser
5. Waste water containing toxic substances - treatment by adding chemicals - uses less energy than desalination and goes into natural gas