Resources & Sustainability (AQA GCSE Chemistry)

Natural resources are all around us and provide us with the materials we need for shelter, food, warmth and transport

These resources can be:

• Living: plants and animals

• Non-living: Minerals, fossil fuels, water and air

Some resources can be replaced by synthetic products and others cannot

• Resources that can not be replaced are described as finite

Chemistry plays an important role in the development of new materials through sustainable processes that enable the need of the current generation to be met without compromising the availability of natural resources for future generations

Two examples of this are rubber and fertilisers

• Rubber, which is extracted from the sap of trees (called latex), is an example of a natural product that can be replaced by a synthetic one

• The replacement material for rubber are polymers which have been developed to specifically replace the rubber in many products

In some areas the appliance of scientific advancement has also allowed us to maximise the production of natural products

The use of fertilisers to enhance crop yield is an example of this

Natural resources can be classified as either renewable or non-renewable 

• Non-renewable resources are also described as finite

Renewable resources is those resources which can be replenished or replaced in a finite time in a human timescale

Timber is an example of a renewable resource as trees and forests can be replanted after the wood has been harvested, although they do take years to replenish

Finite or non-renewable resources are those that don’t reform quickly enough or don’t reform at all

Examples include minerals from the Earth’s crust and metal ores

After extraction, many resources require further processing to make the desired products

These processes require energy and make the extraction process less sustainable

Examples include the reduction of metals from ores and the fractional distillation of crude oil

The extraction of non-renewable resources carries risks

The Earth’s natural resources are being depleted and large amounts of energy are being consumed in the process of extraction