C14 - The Earth's Resources Flashcards

1
Q

Examples of finite resources

A
  • Fossil fuels
  • Metals
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2
Q

What is sustainable development

A

Development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

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3
Q

Examples of natural resources that are being replaced by synthetic ones

A
  • Natural rubber —> synthetic rubber
  • Manure as a fertiliser —-> ammonia fertilisers
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4
Q

Method for experiment to check if water is pure

A
  • Get mass of empty evaporating basin
  • Fill with water sample and place on a beaker of water on a tripod and gauze
  • Heat until all water has evaporated
  • Reweigh evaporating basin and if no change in mass, water was most likely pure
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5
Q

Method for experiment to purify water

A
  • Heat water in conical flask on tripod and gauze
  • Water will evaporate and travel along collecting tube
  • When it gets to the cold beaker, it condenses and forms distilled water
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6
Q

Difference between potable water and pure water

A

Pure water - 100% H2O with no dissolved substances
Potable water - water safe to drink that has dissovled substances

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7
Q

How is potable water produced from fresh water

A
  • Find a source of freh water e.g. a river or lake
  • Pass water through filter beds to remove large insoluble particles and objects
  • Water is then sterilised to remove microbes
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8
Q

Different substances that can be used to sterilise water

A
  • Chlorine
  • Ozone
  • UV light
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9
Q

How is potable water produced from salty water

A
  • Desalination - reduces levels of dissolved minerals to acceptable levels. This can be done through distillation (heating water)
  • Water can be passed through membranes removing the ions (REVERSE OSMOSIS)

These both require lots of energy so are very expensive processes

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10
Q

Why is waste water treated

A
  • Human waste has lots of harmful microorganisms and nitrogen
  • Industrial waste could have toxic chemicals
  • Agricultural waste could have harmful chemicals such as pesticides
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11
Q

Steps in waste water treatment

A
  • Screening and grit removal - removes large objects
  • Sedimentation in tanks - produces sewage sludge and liquid effluent and the sludge sinks to the bottom
  • Sludge is taken away and digested by anaerobic bacteria
  • Air with aerobic bacteria is bubbled through the effluent which digest organic molecules and microorganisms
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12
Q

Easiest and hardest ways to produce potable water

A

Easy - Ground water from aquifers which is then treated with chlorine
Hard - potable water from waste water, only done where water is scarce

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13
Q

How is the process of copper phytomining done

A
  • Plants are grown on land with low-grade copper ore
  • Plants absorb these and it gets concentrated in their tissue
  • Plants are harvested and burnt
  • Ash is dissolved in acid to produce a solution of a copper compound
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14
Q

How is the copper metal obtained from the compounds after phytomining or bioleaching

A
  • Displaced using the addition of scrap iron as it is more reactive
  • Electrolysis of the acid solution
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15
Q

Why is phytomining not widely used to extract copper

A
  • High-grade copper ores are still available
  • Not enough land available
  • Phytomining takes a long time (slow process) and produces a low yield of copper
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16
Q

How is the process of bioleaching done

A
  • Bacteria mixed with low grade ore
  • Bacteria carry out chemical reactions and produce a leachate
  • Leachate contains metal compound
17
Q

Advantages of phytomining and bioleaching

A
  • Allow economical extraction of low grade ores
  • Digging is not required - no displacement of lots of rock/ground
  • Don’t destroy natural habitats unlike mining
  • Don’t cause noise pollution or traffic
18
Q

What is a life cycle assessment

A

A study carried out that attempts to put number of the environmental impact of a product

19
Q

Stages considered in a LCA

A
  • The extraction and processing of raw materials
  • Manufacturing and packaging
  • The impact of the product during its lifetime
  • The disposal at the end of its useful life
  • Transportation
20
Q

LCA of plastic bag

A
  • Produce from crude oil (non-renewable)
  • This can be harmful if the oil leaks
  • Releases waste products in manufacturing
  • Strong and can be reused
  • Non biodegradable
21
Q

LCA of a paper bag

A
  • Produced from trees (renewable)
  • Felling trees is destructive
  • Making paper requires lots of water and energy
  • Not strong - used only once
  • Take more energy to transport
  • Biodegradable
22
Q

Problems with LCAs

A
  • Can’t always be certain how damaging something is
  • Causes estimates which could not be accurate
  • Can be biased to support advertisers
23
Q

Advantages of recycling e.g. copper

A
  • Recycling conserves finite copper ore
  • Recycling uses less energy
  • The mining process have environmental impacts
  • Reduces use of landfill due to less waste