Cars

Question 1

In production how do cars create an impact on the environment?

Answer 1

• The extraction and processing of materials - uses large amounts of water and energy, and emissions into the atmosphere.
• Manufacturing and painting process - consume large amounts of energy and produce more emissions and solid waste.

Question 2

In use how do cars create an impact on the environment?

Answer 2

• Petrol and diesel produce harmful emissions.

- Parts such as tyres, battery, and exhaust are regularly replaced - consume more energy and resources.

Question 3

At the end of life how do cars create an impact on the environment?

Answer 3

• Metals and polymers are recycled - consumes energy.

- Textiles, glass and rubber are difficult to recycle - disposed in landfill.

Question 4

Name some fuel-saving measures.

Answer 4

• Aerodynamic body (reducing drag).
• Lightweight aluminium engines.
• Use of polymers to reduce vehicle weight.
• Thin section mild steel or aluminium body and sub-assemblies (reducing weight).
• Electronic engine management systems to optimise burning of fuel.
• Stop/start engines (reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions).

Question 5

Name some green features.

Answer 5

• Asbestos-free brakes and clutches.
• Natural fibres/textiles and dyes utilised in upholstery.
• A finishing of water-based paints.
• International coded polymer parts to aid recycling.

Question 6

What is a hybrid car?

Answer 6

Cars which run on a petrol engine and an electric motor.

Question 7

How do hybrid cars work?

Answer 7

At slow speeds the cars runs off the electric motor, but when the car is a speed the petrol engine takes over while charging the electric motor.

Question 8

What do critics argue about the hybrid car?

Answer 8

• Only beneficial at slow speeds.
• Once they need to run on their petrol engine, the increased weight from the motor and batteries reduces the overall fuel efficiency gains.

Question 9

What is a hydrogen fuel cell?

Answer 9

• Electrochemical energy conversion devices that convert hydrogen and oxygen into water.
• In this process, they produce electricity which can be used to power the electric motor in a car.

Question 10

What are the cons of a hydrogen fuel cell-powered car?

Answer 10

• The components that make up the fuel cell are very expensive.
• Large.

Question 11

What are the drawback of electric cars?

Answer 11

• All battery powered cars need to be charged - vehicles need to be parked overnight in a place with suitable charging facilities.
• If everyone changed to electric cars, there would have to be a huge increase in the number of power stations to provide the necessary increase in electricity. If that electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, the resulting CO2 emissions would be far greater than those currently produced by petrol and diesel cars.

Question 12

What is bio diesel?

Answer 12

A diesel made from vegetable oil extracted from crops such as rape seed and palm.

Question 13

Why is diesel made from plant materials ‘carbon neutral’?

Answer 13

The diesel produces the same amount of CO2 when burned as would be absorbed by the plant when growing.

Question 14

What are the drawbacks of biodiesel?

Answer 14

• The loss of natural habitat where rainforest is being cleared to grow palm trees.
• Utilising valuable farming land that could be used for food production.

Question 15

What is bio power?

Answer 15

A fuel made from grain crops that is converted to make ethanol which, in turn, is blended with diesel. This reduces the amount of fossil fuel diesel needed and has lower CO2 emissions.

Question 16

What are the drawbacks of bio power?

Answer 16

• Produces fewer miles per gallon than standard diesel.

- Won’t be available in stations for a long time.

Question 17

What is the rebound effect?

Answer 17

A phenomenon that describes how society reacts to improvements in the environmental performance of products.

Question 18

How does the rebound effect apply to the manufacture of cars?

Answer 18

• As manufacturers make products such as cars more fuel efficient and therefore cheaper to run, the more people will use them.
• In the case of cars, there is a pattern of consumers trading up for larger cars and travelling further and faster in them. This wipes out any gains in environmental performance that the manufacturers have achieved in technological advancements.

Question 19

How does the rebound effect apply to the manufacture of domestic goods?

Answer 19

• As manufacturers find cheaper ways to make products, the savings are often passed onto consumers and so products become more accessible to more people. Therefore, even though products are becoming greener, their increased use cancels out any environmental benefits.

Question 20

What are the advantages of using plastics in car manufacture?

Answer 20

• They are available in a range of colours to suit consumer taste for vehicle interiors.
• The moulding can be given a surface texture, such as leather-grain effect, by engraving the surface of the mould.
• The dashboards can be made in a variety of ways, the most common method being injection moulding.
• Traditionally, dashboards would have been made from metal with leather effect vinyl or timber veneers. This was time consuming and expensive unlike modern methods, injection moulding.
• In volume production models, manufacturing processes need to be as fast and streamlined as possible, therefore injection moulding is used.
• Final assembly is much faster as plastics such as ABS can be joined by self-tapping screws. This enables fast fitting of the smaller components.
• Plastics can be more desirable than traditional materials such as lass for headlights.
• Use of plastic for smaller parts will reduce the net weight of the car - improve the efficiency and fuel consumption.