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Using Resources

infoWhy this? This unit shows pupils how chemistry supports sustainable development by managing finite resources, treating water, reducing waste, and assessing the life cycle of products and materials.

scheduleWhy now? It works well at this stage because pupils can bring together their understanding of substances, reactions, analysis and environmental chemistry to think critically about real-world resource use.

neurologyYou need to know

  • A finite resource is used faster than it is formed, whereas a renewable resource is replaced at a similar or faster rate than it is used.
  • Metal ores are finite resources because they form over geological timescales and economically useful deposits can become depleted.
  • Reusing a material means using it again without major reprocessing, whereas recycling means processing waste material to make a new product.
  • Recycling metals reduces the need to mine ores, reduces waste sent to landfill, and usually uses less energy than extracting metals from ores.
  • Copper can be extracted from high-grade copper ores by heating copper compounds with carbon, where carbon reduces the copper compound to copper metal.
  • Bioleaching uses bacteria to produce solutions containing copper ions from low-grade copper ores.
  • Phytomining uses plants to absorb copper compounds from low-grade ores; the plants are burned and copper is extracted from the ash.
  • A life cycle assessment compares the environmental impact of a product over its whole life, including raw material extraction, manufacture, use, transport, and disposal.
  • Life cycle assessments are completed to identify environmental impacts such as energy use, water use, pollution, carbon emissions, and waste production.
  • Life cycle assessments can be difficult to compare because some data may be missing, uncertain, biased, or given different importance.
  • Pure water contains only water molecules, whereas potable water is safe to drink but contains small amounts of dissolved substances.
  • Fresh water from groundwater or reservoirs is made potable by filtration to remove solids and sterilisation to kill microbes, usually using chlorine, ozone, or ultraviolet light.
  • Desalination removes dissolved salts from sea water by simple distillation or reverse osmosis, but both methods require large amounts of energy.
  • Simple distillation separates water from dissolved substances because water evaporates and then condenses, leaving most dissolved solids behind.
  • Waste water is made safer by screening to remove large objects, sedimentation to separate sewage sludge from effluent, and aerobic biological treatment to break down organic matter in the effluent.
  • Sewage sludge can be treated by anaerobic digestion, which produces biogas that can be used as a fuel.
  • An alloy is harder than a pure metal because different-sized atoms distort the layers in the metal structure, making it harder for the layers to slide over each other.
  • Steel is an alloy of iron containing carbon, and it is harder than pure iron.
  • Iron corrodes when it reacts with oxygen and water to form hydrated iron(III) oxide, which is commonly called rust.
  • The Haber process makes ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen using the reversible reaction, with typical conditions of about 450 °C, 200 atmospheres, and an iron catalyst.

rocket_launchYou must be able to

  • Extract and interpret data from graphs, charts, and tables by identifying variables, reading values accurately, describing trends, and using evidence to support conclusions.
  • Evaluate methods for reducing the use of limited metal ores by comparing reuse, recycling, phytomining, bioleaching, and traditional extraction in terms of energy use, cost, yield, pollution, and resource conservation.
  • Use life cycle assessment data to evaluate a material by comparing impacts at each stage and making a justified judgement about the best option for a stated purpose.
  • Compare water purification methods by matching each method to the type of impurity removed and weighing up effectiveness, energy demand, cost, and scale of use.
  • Carry out simple distillation safely by heating the water sample, condensing the vapour, collecting the distillate, and checking purity using boiling point or absence of dissolved residue.
  • Describe the stages of sewage treatment in order, explaining what is removed during screening, sedimentation, aerobic treatment, and anaerobic digestion.
  • Explain corrosion prevention by linking barriers, oiling, painting, galvanising, and sacrificial protection to the need to stop iron contacting water and oxygen.
  • Write and balance the symbol equation for ammonia production`.
  • Explain the Haber process conditions as compromises, linking temperature, pressure, catalyst, rate of reaction, equilibrium yield, cost, and safety.
  • Compare fertiliser production in the laboratory and in industry, including batch versus continuous processes, scale, control of reaction conditions, safety, purity, and economic efficiency.


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