C14: The Earth's Resources

Question 1

What do humans use the Earth’s resources for?

Answer 1

Warmth, shelter, food and transport

Question 2

What do natural resources provide?

Answer 2

Food, timbre, clothing and fuels

Question 3

What do finite resources do?

Answer 3

They are processed to provide energy and materials

Question 4

What is sustainable development?

Answer 4

The development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Question 5

What should drinking water for humans have?

Answer 5

Sufficiently low levels of dissolved salts and microbes

Question 6

Why is potable water not pure water?

Answer 6

Because it contains dissolved substances

Question 7

How is most potable water produced?

Answer 7

By choosing an appropriate source of fresh water, passing the water through filter beds and desalination (sterlising)

Question 8

What are the sterilising agents used for potable water?

Answer 8

Chlorine, ozone or UV light

Question 9

What may be required if supplies of fresh water are limited?

Answer 9

Desalination of salty water or sea water

Question 10

How can desalination be done?

Answer 10

By distillation or by processes that use membranes such as reverse osmosis

Question 11

What does sewage and agricultural waste water require?

Answer 11

Removal of organic matter and harmful microbes

Question 12

What does sewage treatment include?

Answer 12

Screening and grit removal, sedimentation to produce sewage sludge and effluent, anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge and aerobic biological treatment of effluent

Question 13

What are ways of extracting copper from low-grade ores?

Answer 13

Phytomining and bioleaching

Question 14

What is phytomining?

Answer 14

The process of using plants to absorb metal compounds. These plants are harvested then burned to produce ash that contains metal compounds

Question 15

What is bioleaching?

Answer 15

The process of using bacteria to produce leachate solutions that contain metal compounds

Question 16

How can the metal compounds from phytomining and bioleaching obtain the metal?

Answer 16

By displacement using scrap iron or by electrolysis

Question 17

Why are Life Cycle Assessments carried out?

Answer 17

To access the environmental impact of products in the extraction of raw materials, manufacturing and packaging, use and operation during its lifetime and the disposal at the end of its useful life

Question 18

What should we not do in order to save lives of future generations?

Answer 18

Using up all limited resources, increasing global warming and damaging the environment

Question 19

Is recycling free?

Answer 19

No

Question 20

What are the requirements of potable water?

Answer 20

pH of between 6.5 and 8.5, low levels of dissolved substances and no microorganisms

Question 21

What are benefits of surface water?

Answer 21

It is replaced by the rain often and easy to access, however can dry up when it is hot

Question 22

What are sources of fresh water?

Answer 22

Lakes, rivers and aquifers

Question 23

What are the 3 main problems of manufacturing and packaging ?

Answer 23

Energy use, release of pollution and production of waste products

Question 24

What is the manufacturing and packaging process of plastic bags?

Answer 24

Hydrocarbons need to undergo fractional distillation and these are cracked to form alkenes. These then undergo polymerisation

Question 25

What are limitations of LCAs?

Answer 25

There are so many steps, so almost difficult to quantify them, they can be manipulated to support a company and

Question 26

What is desalination?

Answer 26

The extraction of potable water from seawater

Question 27

What are 3 sources of waste water?

Answer 27

Domestic (household), agricultural systems (nutrient runoff from fields and animal waste) and industrial (factories that make and use chemicals)

Question 28

What can the remaining digestive waste from sewage sludge be used as?

Answer 28

A fertiliser as it’s rich in nutrients

Question 29

How can waste water containing toxic substances be removed?

Answer 29

Adding chemicals to precipitate metals or using UV radiation to break them down

Question 30

How is waste water better than fresh water?

Answer 30

It is easier to treat

Question 31

What is the process of recycling glass?

Answer 31

It is separated by colour, crushed and melted to be reshaped

Question 32

What is the manufacturing and packaging process of paper bags?

Answer 32

The timbre needs to be pulped: Broken up into little pieces and soaked releasing loads of energy and producing waste