5.10.1.1Using the Earth's resources and sustainable development
AQA GCSE Combined Science Foundation (8464), Foundation tier · Chemistry › Using resources › Using the Earth's resources and obtaining potable water
Practise Using the Earth's resources and sustainable development. 6 exam-style questions on this subtopic, at up to four difficulty levels, with full mark schemes and a progress tracker. Free, no account needed.
How humans use the Earth's natural and finite resources, the difference between finite and renewable resources, and what sustainable development means. On Paper 2 this comes up as short recall questions and as data questions where you interpret information about resources from a table, chart or graph, sometimes using orders of magnitude.
Key facts
Earth's resources provide warmth, shelter, food and transport
Finite resource: used faster than it forms, so it will run out (e.g. crude oil, metal ores)
Renewable resource: replaced as fast as it is used (e.g. timber from replanted forests)
Sustainable development: meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Natural products can be supplemented or replaced by agricultural and synthetic products
Years a reserve lasts = reserve ÷ use per year
Order of magnitude = a power of ten; 106 to 109 is 1000 times bigger
Notes
Why we use the Earth's resources
Humans use the Earth's resources to provide warmth, shelter, food and transport.
Natural resources, supplemented by agriculture, provide food, timber, clothing and fuels.
Finite resources from the Earth, the oceans and the atmosphere (e.g. crude oil, natural gas, metal ores) are processed to provide energy and materials.
Chemistry improves agricultural and industrial processes, provides new products (e.g. fertilisers, synthetic fibres) and helps with sustainable development.
Finite and renewable resources
A finite resource is not replaced, or forms far more slowly than we use it, so it will run out. Examples: crude oil, coal, natural gas, metal ores.
A renewable resource is replaced at least as fast as we use it. Examples: timber from forests that are replanted, cotton, wool, crops.
To decide from information, compare the time it takes to form or regrow with how fast it is used: crude oil takes millions of years to form; a cotton crop regrows every year.
Natural, agricultural and synthetic products
Many natural products are supplemented (added to) or replaced by agricultural or synthetic products.
Examples: wool and cotton by synthetic fibres such as polyester and nylon; natural rubber by synthetic rubber; timber by plastics (e.g. uPVC window frames); wild fish by farmed fish.
Many synthetic products are made from crude oil, a finite resource, so replacing a natural product is not automatically more sustainable.
Sustainable development and using data
Sustainable development meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Chemists help by developing processes that use less energy, fewer finite resources and produce less waste (e.g. better catalysts, recycling, renewable raw materials).
How to answer each type of question
Define sustainable development
1 to 2 marksGrade 5
Give the first part: meeting the needs of people now (current generations).
Give the second part: without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Example. What is meant by sustainable development? (2 marks)
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Development that meets the needs of current generations (1) without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (1).
Finite or renewable? Give a reason
2 to 4 marksGrade 5
Use the information: does the resource form or regrow quickly compared with how fast it is used?
Name the category: finite or renewable.
Give the reason, using the facts or figures in the question.
Example. Natural rubber is collected from rubber trees. New trees can be planted and are ready to use after about 7 years. Synthetic rubber is made from crude oil. (a) Is natural rubber a finite or a renewable resource? Give a reason. (2 marks) (b) Explain why replacing natural rubber with synthetic rubber may not be sustainable. (2 marks)
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(a) Renewable (1); new trees can be planted and grow in a few years, so it is replaced as fast as it is used (1). (b) Synthetic rubber is made from crude oil, which is a finite resource (1). Crude oil is being used much faster than it forms, so it will run out and future generations may not be able to meet their needs (1).
Don’t lose marks
Defining sustainable development as just 'not using up resources'. You need both parts: the needs of current and of future generations.
Calling timber finite. Timber from forests that are replanted is renewable.
Assuming a synthetic product is always better for the environment. Many are made from crude oil, a finite resource.
Typing 6.0 × 108 ÷ 1.5 × 107 into a calculator without brackets or the ×10x key, which gives a wildly wrong answer.
Saying 'it will run out' without a reason. Say it forms much more slowly than it is used.
More tips
Memory tricks
Finite = 'finished one day'; renewable = 'renews itself'.
Sustainable = now AND later: meet today's needs without harming tomorrow's.
Standard form division: divide the numbers and subtract the powers. 6 × 108 ÷ 2 × 106 = 3 × 102.
One order of magnitude = ×10, two = ×100, three = ×1000.
Exam technique
When the question says 'use the information' or 'use the table', quote figures from it. General answers score little.
Always give a reason with 'finite' or 'renewable': the mark is usually for the reason (how fast it forms or is replaced).
For 'suggest' questions about reserves, any sensible reason that fits the context scores, e.g. new reserves found, more recycling, less demand.
What each grade needs
What you need to be able to do, from the first marks up to the top grade.
Grade 3
State what humans use Earth's resources forTo provide warmth, shelter, food and transport.
Grade 4
Define finite and renewable resourcesA finite resource is used faster than it forms, so it will run out; a renewable resource is replaced as fast as it is used.
Grade 4
Give natural products replaced by synthetic onesFor example, wool and cotton supplemented by synthetic fibres such as polyester, or natural rubber by synthetic rubber.
Grade 5
Define sustainable developmentDevelopment that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sample questions
Written for this site in the style of AQA exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.
Question 1Easy4 marks
(a) What is meant by sustainable development?[1]
(b) Which two are finite resources? Tick (✓) two boxes.[2]
Crude oil
Timber from managed forests
Metal ores
Wool
Cotton
(c) Give one example of a natural product that has been supplemented or replaced by a synthetic product.[1]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)
development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
(b)Answer: Crude oil; Metal ores
(c)
wool / cotton / silk replaced by synthetic fibres (e.g. polyester, nylon) / natural rubber replaced by synthetic rubber / wood replaced by plastics / manure supplemented by synthetic fertilisers
Question 2Medium2 marks
Explain why ‘reducing’ the amount of a resource used is generally considered better for sustainability than ‘recycling’ it after use.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
reducing use means less raw material needs to be extracted, and less energy is used in the first place
recycling still uses some energy and resources to collect and reprocess the material, even though usually less than making it from raw materials