C14: 14.1 - Finite and renewable resources Flashcards
what do humans use the Earth’s resources for
to provide warmth, shelter, food and transport.
Natural resources, supplemented by what provide what
Natural resources, supplemented by agriculture, provide food,
timber, clothing and fuels
what type of alternatives have chemists developed for natural products gathered form environmet
developed synthetics alternatives to natural products
what can we classify natural resources into
finite (non-renewable) and non-finite (renewable)
Finite resources from the Earth, __________ and _________ are
processed to provide what?
Finite resources from the Earth, oceans and atmosphere are
processed to provide energy and materials.
Chemistry plays an important role in improving agricultural and
industrial processes to provide what?
to provide new products and in sustainable development - development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
what do you mean by sustainable development of materials
development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
example of natural product and its synthetic alternative (and what they are)
- Rubber : extracted from the sap of trees (called latex)
- Alternative : Synthetic polymers - replaces rubber in many products
example of where appliance of scientific advancement has also allowed us to maximise the production of natural products
use of fertilisers to enhance crop yield is an example of this
wool - use and alternative synthetic product
- use - clotes, carpets
- alternative synthetic product - acrylic fibre e.g. poly(propene)
cotton - use and alternative synthetic product
- use - clothes,textiles
- alternative synthetic product - polyester
silk - use and alternative synthetic product
- use - clothes
- alternative synthetic product - nylon
rubber - use and alternative synthetic product
- use - tyres, washers
- alternative synthetic product - various synthetic polymers
wood - use and alternative synthetic product
- use - construction, furniture
- alternative synthetic product - PVC, composites (MDF - medium-density fiberboard: a type of board made from very small pieces of wood that have been pressed and stuck together, used for making furniture)
what is meant by renewable resources and give eg
resources which can be replenished or replaced in a finite time in a human timescale (e.g. crops used to make biofuel)
example of a renewable resource (e.g. comes from wood)
- timber
- trees and forests can be replanted after the wood has been harvested, although they do take years to replenish
what do you mean by Finite or non-renewable resources
those that don’t reform quickly enough or don’t reform at all
eg of finite resources
- metal ores - used to extract metal
- minerals from Earth’s core
- crude oil - used to make polymers + petrochemicals
- limestone - used to make concrete + cement
- crude oil - to make petrol/diesel/kerosene we use for transport
ways in which industries are moving towards renewable resources to reduce exploitation of non-renewable resources
- ethene (made from crude oil) - starting material for polymers
- ## but ethene can also be made from ethanol => made by fermenting glucose from sugar crane/beet => so using renewable crop as raw material => makes plastics like poly(ethene) more sustainable
- ## use of wood chips instead of fossil fuels to fuel power stations => linked to planting new trees programme
- Building materials e.g. limestone can often be non-renewable, but recycling and re-using materials => ensure future building built sustainably w/o exploiting finite material
what makes resources less sustainable after extraction and give examples
- After extraction, many resources require further processing to make desired products => which require energy => less sustainable
Examples : reduction of metals from ores and the fractional distillation of crude oil
cons of extraction of non-renewable resources
- carries risk
- Earth’s natural resources are being depleted + large amounts of energy being consumed in process of extraction
example of exam/tb question : use orders of magnitude to evaluate the significance of data
