Using Resources Flashcards
What is most of the glass we use called
Soda - lime glass
How is soda-lime glass made
Heating a mixture of sand, sodium carbonate and limestone
What is borosilicate
A glass made of sand and boron trioxide
Why may borosilicate be used instead of soda lime glass
It has a higher melting point
How are clay ceramics made
Shaping wet clay and then heating
What does the properties of polymers depend on
The monomer units
Size of the chains
Molecular structure and density
What are thermosetting polymers
Polymers that contain strong covalent bonds between layers
What are thermosoftening polymers
Polymers that are easy to separate
What are the properties of thermosetting polymers
Hard plastics
High melting point
What are are the properties of thermosoftening polymers
Soft plastics
Low melting point
Explain how potable water is produced from fresh water
Choose an appropriate source of water
Pass through filter beds
Sterilise to destroy harmful microbes
What do humans use resources for
Warmth,shelter, food and transport
What are finite resources used for
Their materials and energy 
What is essential for life
Water of appropriate quality
What should drinking water contain for human consumption
Sufficiently low levels of dissolved salts and microbes
What is potable water
Water that is safe to drink
What does the methods used to produce potable water depend upon
The availability of water and local conditions
What does the rain in the UK provide
Water with a low levels of dissolving substances that connect in the ground, lakes and rivers
How is potable water produced
Choosing an appropriate source of water
Passing the water through filter beds
Sterilising
What sterilising agents can be used for potable water
Chlorine
ozone
ultraviolet light
What may be required of supplies of freshwater are limited
Desalination of salty water or seawater
How can desalination be carried out
Through distillation or reverse osmosis 
What’s the disadvantages of desalination
They require large amounts of energy
What is wastewater produced by
Urban lifestyles and industrial processes
What does waste water need before being released into the environment
Treating
What does sewage and agricultural waste water require removal of
Organic matter and harmful microbes
Industrial waste requires the removal of
Organic matter and harmful chemicals
What does sewage treatment include
- Screening and grit removal
- sedimentation to produce sewage sludge and effluent - Anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge
- Aerobic biological treatment of effluent
What are the methods of extracting low-grade ores
Bioleaching and phytomining
What do the new ways of extracting low-grade ores avoid
Traditional mining methods of digging and moving and disposing amounts of rock
Describe phytomining
- Plants absorb the metal compounds
- plants are harvested and then burnt to produce ash that contains metal compounds
Describe bioleaching
Bacteria produce leachate solutions that contain metal compounds that can be processed to obtain the metal
What do life-cycle assessments do
Assess the environmental impact of products
What are the four stages of the life-cycle assessment
- Extracting and processing raw materials
- Manufacturing and packaging
- Use an operation during its lifetime
- Disposal at the end of its useful life including transport and distribution
What’s the disadvantages of life-cycle assessments
Allocate numerical values to pollutant affects it’s not very straightforward and requires value judgements
What is Corrosion 
The destruction of materials by chemical reactions with substances in the environment
What is rusting
An example of corrosion which only applies to iron
What is required for iron to rust
Air and water
How can corrosion be prevented
Applying a coating that acts as a barrier such as grease paint or electroplating
How was aluminium prevented from corrosion
Aluminium has an oxide coating
What does coating a more reactive substance provide
Sacrificial protection
What is an example of sacrificial protection
Galvanising zinc with iron
What is Bronze an alloy of
Copper and tin
What is brass and alloy of
Copper and zinc
What is gold alloyed with in jewellery
Silver copper and zinc
What is the proportion of gold measured in
Carats
What is steel alloys of
Iron with specific amounts of carbon and other metals
What are the properties of high carbon steel
Strong but brittle
What are the properties of low carbon steel
Softer and more easily shaped
What does stainless steel contain
Chromium and nickel which are resistant to corrosion
What are the properties of aluminium alloys
Low density
