Edexcel GCSE Computer Science (1CP2) · Issues and impact
Practise Environmental issues. 11 exam-style questions on this subtopic, at up to four difficulty levels, with full mark schemes and a progress tracker. Free, no account needed.
Cover the answers and test yourself. The app has these as flashcards that come back just before you'd forget them.
Define the term 'e-waste'.
Discarded electronic devices.
Give two ways a school could reduce the amount of electricity used by its computers.
Switch computers off after use and use power-saving settings.
A school has 150 desktop computers. Each uses 60 W when switched on and 2 W in sleep mode. The computers are used on 5 days each week. At the moment they are left on for 24 hours on each of these days and switched off at weekends. A new policy will keep them switched on for 8 hours a day and put them into sleep mode for the other 16 hours. (1 kWh is the energy used by 1000 W for 1 hour.) Give one environmental benefit of the new policy.
Less electricity generated means lower carbon emissions.
Sample questions
Written for this site in the style of Edexcel exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.
Question 1Easy3 marks
(a) Give two environmental problems caused by manufacturing digital devices.[2]
(b) Define the term 'e-waste'.[1]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: Any two from: habitat damage from mining; pollution; energy use and carbon emissions; water use; using up finite resources.
mining raw materials (e.g. metals such as cobalt, lithium or gold) damages habitats and landscapes
mining and processing pollute land, water and air
manufacturing uses a lot of energy, often from fossil fuels, releasing carbon dioxide
manufacturing uses large amounts of water
it uses up non-renewable resources
(b)Answer: Discarded electronic devices.
electronic / electrical devices and equipment that have been thrown away
Question 2Medium4 marks
Explain two environmental problems caused by the disposal of old smartphones.[4]
Show the answer and mark scheme
Answer: Toxic substances leak from landfill into soil and water; unrecycled phones waste valuable metals, so more must be mined.
phones contain toxic substances such as lead, mercury and cadmium
in landfill these can leak into soil and water, harming wildlife and people
burning e-waste to recover metals releases toxic fumes
which pollutes the air and harms the health of the people doing it
e-waste is often shipped to developing countries
where it may be processed without safety or environmental controls
valuable materials (e.g. gold, copper, rare metals) are wasted if phones are not recycled
so more raw materials have to be mined to make new devices
Question 3Hard4 marks
Some smartphone manufacturers make phones that are difficult to repair, for example with batteries glued in place, and stop providing software updates after a few years.
Explain the environmental impact of these decisions.[4]
Show the answer and mark scheme
Answer: The replacement cycle gets shorter: phones are replaced sooner, so more are made (materials, energy, emissions) and more become e-waste.
phones that cannot easily be repaired are thrown away when a part such as the battery fails
phones that no longer receive updates become insecure or stop working with apps, so owners replace them even if the hardware still works
this shortens the replacement cycle (phones are replaced more often), so more new phones are manufactured
manufacturing uses raw materials, energy and water and causes pollution and carbon emissions
more phones are thrown away, increasing e-waste
designing for repair and supporting phones for longer would reduce both manufacturing and e-waste
Stuck? Get 1-to-1 help. Chhetri Academy tutors GCSE and A level Maths and Science online, with a free 30-minute trial lesson.