What does the specification say?………..
Industries use the Earth’s natural resources to manufacture useful products. In order to operate sustainably, chemists seek to minimise the use of limited resources, use of energy, waste and environmental impact in the manufacture of these products.
Chemists also aim to develop ways of disposing of products at the end of their useful life in ways that ensure that materials and stored energy are utilised. Pollution, disposal of waste products and changing land use has a significant effect on the environment, and environmental chemists study how human activity has affected the Earth’s natural cycles, and how damaging effects can be minimised. [AQA-8462-SP-2016-chem.pdf].
H/W: 3 questions and mark scheme on:
Sustainable use of resources. One of your questions should include the difference between finite and renewable resources.
Students should be able to [AQA-8462-sp-2016-chem.pdf]:
- State examples of natural products that are supplemented or replaced by agricultural and synthetic products.
- Distinguish between finite and renewable resources given appropriate information.
- Extract and interpret information about resources from charts, graphs and tables
- Use orders of magnitude to evaluate the significance of data.
Learning objective:
To understand finite resources, renewable resources and sustainable development.
Outcomes:
Give examples of natural products replaced or supplemented by synthetics.
Give examples of products replaced or supplemented by agricultural products.
Distinguish between finite and renewable resources.
Other skills required:
Be able to extract and interpret facts provided or information supplied / given through graphs, charts and tables.
Be able to distinguish between finite and renewable resources given suitable information.
Translate or to turn information between graphical and numeric form.
Guidelines, not exhaustive.
Materials obtained or made from living things are sometimes called natural materials, whereas synthetic materials are made from chemicals. Today, synthetic materials offer us more durability at a lower cost than the natural materials we used to use.
Synthetic and natural materials
The materials we use are chemicals or mixtures of chemicals. For example, sugar is a chemical, but chocolate is a mixture of chemicals, one of which is sugar.
Materials can be obtained or made from living things. Examples include cotton, paper, silk and wool. These are sometimes called natural materials.
Materials can also be made from chemicals. Examples of these include plastics such as polythene. These are called synthetic materials.
Synthetic products include clothing made of polyester, nylon and Gore Tex
Key terms
Finite resource
A resource that cannot be replaced once it has been used.
Can you give me any examples?
Finite resources: crude oil, coal, and iron ore, sand. Sand is still abundant. But we are running out of the rest.
Renewable resource:
A resource that we can replace once we have used it. Examples?
Sustainable development
Development that meets the needs of the present people without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Natural resources such as wood, stone and clay, supplemented by agriculture for cotton, wool and rice, provide food, timber, clothing and fuels.
Agricultural products:
Wool, cotton, rice now provide: food, timber, clothing and fuels.
GCSE SCIENCE 