Using Resources Flashcards
What do humans use the Earth’s natural resources for? - Materials
Use them for energy and fuels
For building shelters
Fuels for transport
Materials for clothing
What is causing the use of the Earth’s resources to become unsustainable? - Materials
The human population is growing too quickly and as a result of having to meet increased demand, our use of natural resources is becoming to fast
What are finite resources? Give an example - Materials
Resources that are harvested from a limited supply
Crude oil is an example
What are renewable resources? - Materials
Resources which will not run out, and can be used now without impacting the demands of future generations
How is crude oil processed into useful products? - Materials
Crude oil is processed through fractional distillation and cracking to produce a variety of useful chemicals
How has the Haber process aided humans? - Materials
It has removed dependence on natural fertilisers such as manure, and led to the widespread use of intensive farming and feed a growing population
What is potable water? - Materials
Water that is safe for humans to consume
What makes water potable? Why is this? - Materials
For water to be potable it must have sufficiently low levels of dissolved salts (can sometimes be harmful to humans) and microbes (can cause illness)
How is potable water produced in the UK? Describe the process - Materials
Rainwater is collected in aquifers, as well as in lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The water is passed through filters to remove solid substances. It is then sterilised using chlorine and piped to houses.
How is potable water made from seawater? Describe the process. What issues are there with this? - Materials
Desalination through distillation (boiling and condensing the substances at different temperatures to separate) or reverse osmosis. Very expensive as it require high amounts of energy
What pollutants may be in waste water that needs treatment? - Materials
Human waste, harmful bacteria, industrial waste, fertilisers or pesticides
Describe the method of sewage treatment - Materials
Water is passed through a screen to remove large particles, and then undergoes sedimentation to remove tiny particles which produces sewage effluent. Effluent is digested by anaerobic bacteria and treated with aerobic bacteria to reduce solid waste
What is a life-cycle assessment? Name examples of aspects included in a LCA - Materials
An analysis of the impact of a manufactured product on an environment.
Extracting and processing the raw materials, manufacturing and packaging, use of a product, disposal of a product
How does the extraction of raw materials in an LCA impact the environment? - Materials
Using up limited resources such as ores and crude oil, damaging habitats through quarrying, mining or felling trees, greenhouse gas production from extraction
How does manufacture in an LCA have an impact on the environment? - Materials
Using land for factories and the use of machines which produce greenhouse gases
How does the use of a product in an LCA impact the environment? - Materials
Certain products, such as cars and electrical appliances produce greenhouse gases in order to fuel them
How does the disposal of old products in an LCA have an impact on the environment? - Materials
Land is used up for landfill sites, recyclable products have a lesser impact on the environment than non-recyclable ones
How are comparable LCAs used to provide information on 2 products? - Materials
Comparative LCAs can be used to show which product has a larger negative effect on the environment, and makes notes on the processes in manufacture
How are LCAs not effective? - Materials
LCAs often do not contain specific impacts of pollutants produced in industry and require an individual judgement to be made on the impacts of a product
What advantages are there of recycling? - Materials
Less crude oil needs extracting to make plastics, fewer quarrying and mining of ores needs to take place, landfill waste is reduced, less energy needed for recycling than for manufacturing a new product
What disadvantages are there of recycling? (Critique the recycling PROCESS) - Materials
The collection of used items needs organisation, workers, fuel and vehicles.
Can be difficult to distinguish between metals.
Sorted metal may need to be transported to places where it can be made into ingots.
What is phytomining? - Materials
Using plants to absorb metal compounds from the ground using roots.
Describe the process of phytomining - Materials
Plants are grown on land of a low grade ore, where the plants absorb metal ions through roots and concentrate them in cells. The plants are burned, with the remaining ash containing metal compounds