Resources & Sustainability (AQA GCSE Chemistry: Combined Science)

• 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

Photo by Francesco Gallarotti on Unsplash

Plants are natural resources that provide materials for food, shelter and clothing

Photo by Chris Linnett at Unsplash

Building materials such as limestone can often be non-renewable, but recycling and re-using materials ensure that buildings of the future are constructed in a sustainable way and reduce the need to further exploit finite mineral resources