Capstone: Finite or Renewable?
One question runs through the whole topic: will a resource run out? A finite (non-renewable) resource is used up faster than it forms; a renewable one can be replaced as fast as we use it. Sort all eight to bookend the topic.
Drag each resource into a box — or tap it to step through the boxes. Then press Check.
Finiteused up faster than it forms
Renewablereplaced as fast as it is used
📋 C10 Using Resources — Quick-Reference Summary
- Resources & sustainability — natural resources come from the Earth, oceans and atmosphere. Finite = fossil fuels and metal ores; renewable = things that regrow (timber). Sustainable development meets today’s needs without compromising future generations.
- Potable water — safe to drink, but not pure (it has dissolved substances). UK fresh water: choose a source → filter (remove insoluble solids) → sterilise (chlorine, ozone or UV). Sea water needs desalination (distillation or reverse osmosis) — lots of energy.
- Waste water — screening & grit removal → sedimentation (sludge sinks, effluent floats) → anaerobic digestion of sludge → aerobic treatment of effluent. Ground water is easiest to make potable; salt water hardest.
- Low-grade ores H — phytomining (plants → burn to ash) and bioleaching (bacteria → leachate); the copper is then obtained by displacement (scrap iron) or electrolysis.
- Life cycle assessment — four stages: raw materials → manufacture → use → disposal (plus transport). Energy/water/waste can be measured; pollutant harm needs a value judgement, so an LCA is not purely objective. Reduce, reuse, recycle to save finite resources and energy.
- Corrosion T — rusting needs air and water. Prevent it with a barrier (paint, oil, plastic, electroplating) or sacrificial protection (a more reactive metal like zinc/magnesium corrodes instead).
- Materials T — alloys (bronze = Cu+Sn, brass = Cu+Zn, steels, gold carats) are harder than pure metals. Thermosoftening polymers melt (weak forces between chains); thermosetting do not (cross-links). Composites = matrix + reinforcement.
- Haber process T — N2 (air) + H2 (natural gas), iron catalyst, ~450 °C, ~200 atm: N2 + 3H2 ⇌ 2NH3. Conditions are a compromise between yield and rate/cost. NPK fertilisers are formulations supplying nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
That completes C10 — and the whole of AQA GCSE Chemistry. From a barrel of crude oil and a river of fresh water to the alloys in a bridge and the fertiliser on a field, this topic is chemistry put to work, with sustainability as the thread running through it. For Paper 2 revision, pair it with C9 (the environmental impact of using these resources) and C6 (the equilibrium behind the Haber process).