Using the Earth's resources
6 lessons in Using resources.
30 exam questions · 53 marks
10.1
Finite resources, sustainability and recycling
Natural, synthetic, finite and renewable resources, what sustainable development means, and how reducing, reusing and recycling materials such as metals and glass saves resources and energy.
AQA
Edexcel
OCR
5 questions
10.2
Potable water
The difference between potable and pure water, how fresh water is treated to make it safe to drink, how sea water is desalinated by distillation or reverse osmosis, and why water for chemical analysis must be pure.
AQA
Edexcel
OCR
5 questions
10.3
Waste water treatment
How sewage and agricultural and industrial waste water are treated by screening, sedimentation, anaerobic digestion of sludge and aerobic treatment of effluent, and how the ease of obtaining potable water depends on its source.
AQA
OCR
5 questions
10.4
Required practical: analysing and purifying water
AQA required practical: testing the pH of water samples, finding the mass of dissolved solids by evaporation, and purifying salty water by distillation, with how to check the purity of the distilled water.
AQA
5 questions
10.5
Phytomining and bioleaching
Why new ways of extracting copper from low-grade ores are needed, how phytomining uses plants and bioleaching uses bacteria, and how copper is then obtained by displacement with scrap iron or by electrolysis.
Higher only
AQA
Edexcel
OCR
5 questions
10.6
Life cycle assessments
The stages of a life cycle assessment from raw materials to disposal, how to compare products such as paper and plastic bags, and the limitations of life cycle assessments including value judgements and bias.
AQA
Edexcel
OCR
5 questions