Using the Earth's resources and sustainable development — AQA GCSE Combined Science
Test yourself on Using the Earth's resources and sustainable development with AQA GCSE practice questions.
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Using the Earth's resources and sustainable development explained
Earth supplies finite and renewable resources that humans convert into warmth, shelter, food and transport.
Read the full explanation
Warmth comes from burning wood, coal or natural gas, or from electricity generated by wind, solar or nuclear power. Shelter uses timber, limestone for cement, clay for bricks, slate for roofing and metals for structural frames. Food depends on soil, water, sunlight and pollinators, supported by farming. Transport needs fuels such as petrol, diesel and biodiesel, plus metals, glass and plastics for vehicles and roads. Each use consumes resources and produces waste, so chemists compare renewability, energy cost and environmental impact when choosing materials.
Natural resources, supplemented by agriculture, provide food, timber, clothing and fuels.
Natural resources come directly from the environment, while agriculture supplements them by farming plants and animals. Food is obtained from wild fish, game and gathered plants, but mostly from farmed crops and livestock. Timber comes from managed forests, where trees are felled and replanted. Clothing uses natural fibres such as cotton, wool and silk, plus synthetic polymers made from crude oil. Fuels include wood, peat, coal, crude oil and natural gas, with biodiesel and bioethanol produced from crops. Agriculture therefore increases supply but also uses land, water, fertilisers and energy, so sustainability depends on managing these inputs carefully.
Finite resources from the Earth, oceans and atmosphere are processed to provide energy and materials.
Earth supplies a fixed stock of raw materials. Finite means the total amount cannot be replaced once used, so extraction rates matter. The crust yields metal ores such as haematite, as well as other resources like limestone and crude oil; the oceans supply water, sodium chloride and dissolved minerals; the atmosphere supplies nitrogen and oxygen. These natural resources are not useful directly in most cases, so they undergo processing. Crude oil is separated by fractional distillation and cracked to give fuels and feedstock for polymers. Iron ore is reduced in a blast furnace to make iron and then steel. Seawater is desalinated or electrolysed to give chlorine and sodium hydroxide. Each process needs energy, often from burning finite fossil fuels, and produces waste, so chemists must balance product yield against environmental cost.
Chemistry plays an important role in improving agricultural and industrial processes to provide new products and in sustainable development, which is development that meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Chemistry improves processes so more product is made from less raw material. In agriculture, the Haber process combines nitrogen and hydrogen to make ammonia for fertilisers, raising crop yields to feed a growing population. In industry, catalysts lower activation energy so reactions run faster at lower temperature, saving energy. Sustainable development means meeting present needs without stopping future generations from meeting theirs. Chemists apply this by using renewable feedstock, recycling metals and plastics, designing biodegradable polymers, treating waste water and using atom economy to reduce waste. For example, recycling aluminium saves about 95% of the energy needed to extract it from bauxite, conserving finite ore for the future.
state examples of natural products that are supplemented or replaced by agricultural and synthetic products
You need to give examples of natural products that humans use, and explain how agricultural or synthetic products can supplement or replace them. For instance, natural rubber from rubber trees can be supplemented or replaced by synthetic rubber made from crude oil. Natural fertilisers such as manure can be supplemented or replaced by synthetic fertilisers produced from ammonia. Natural fibres such as cotton and wool can be supplemented or replaced by synthetic fibres such as polyester and nylon. When answering, name the natural product, name the agricultural or synthetic alternative, and state whether it supplements or replaces the natural product.
distinguish between finite and renewable resources given appropriate information.
A finite resource is used up faster than it is replaced, so its supply will eventually run out; examples include crude oil, coal, natural gas and metal ores. A renewable resource is replenished at a rate that keeps pace with use, so it need not run out; examples include solar, wind, hydroelectric, tidal and wave power, plus sustainably managed timber. To distinguish them, ask whether the resource is replaced within a human timescale. Given data, look for a falling reserve, a rising extraction cost or a stated formation time of millions of years, which indicate finite. A resource such as fresh water or wood can be renewable only if the rate of use stays below the rate of replacement.
extract and interpret information about resources from charts, graphs and tables
Resource data often appears as a bar chart of energy supply, a line graph of reserves over time or a table of extraction costs. To extract information, read the axes, units and key first, then locate the value or trend asked for. To interpret, describe the pattern and explain what it means for sustainability: a falling line of reserves suggests a finite resource being used up, while a rising share of wind or solar suggests a shift to renewable supply. Compare values by reading across rows or columns, and quote figures with units. Where a graph shows a projection, treat it as a prediction based on stated assumptions rather than a measured fact.
use orders of magnitude to evaluate the significance of data. MS 2h
Orders of magnitude compare quantities by powers of ten, so a value ten times another differs by one order of magnitude. To use them, write both values in standard form, divide the larger by the smaller, then round the result to the nearest power of ten. For example, if one process uses 2.0 × 10⁶ dm³ of water and another uses 4.0 × 10⁴ dm³, the ratio is 50, so the first is about 10² times greater, roughly two orders of magnitude. This helps evaluate significance: a difference of one order of magnitude or more usually matters when judging resource use or sustainability, whereas a small difference may not. Always state the comparison being made and link the size of the difference to the context, such as water demand or waste produced.
Your focus
- Name the four human needs in the statement and match each to at least one Earth resource.
- Classify given resources as renewable or non-renewable and justify each classification.
- Explain one environmental consequence of using a named resource for warmth, shelter, food or transport.
Show all 24 objectives
- Give one natural and one agricultural source for food, timber, clothing and fuels.
- Classify named fuels and fibres as renewable or non-renewable with a reason.
- Explain how agriculture supplements natural resources and one sustainability issue this creates.
- Define finite resources and give examples from the Earth, oceans and atmosphere.
- Describe a named processing method that turns a raw material into a useful energy source or material.
- Explain why processing finite resources has environmental and economic consequences.
- Define sustainable development and apply it to a named chemical process.
- Describe how chemistry improves an agricultural process and an industrial process.
- Evaluate a chemical process in terms of its benefits for present and future generations.
- State examples of natural products used by humans.
- Describe how agricultural and synthetic products can supplement or replace natural products.
- Distinguish between supplementing and replacing a natural product.
- State the defining difference between finite and renewable resources in terms of replacement rate.
- Classify a range of named resources as finite or renewable with a correct justification.
- Apply the rate-of-use idea to interpret given information about a resource and reach a supported conclusion.
- Read values accurately from charts, graphs and tables about resources, including correct units.
- Describe and compare trends shown in resource data using quoted figures.
- Interpret trends in terms of finite and renewable resource use and sustainable development.
- Convert given data into standard form and identify the power of ten for each value.
- Calculate the ratio between two data values and express it as an order of magnitude.
- Judge whether a difference in data is significant in the context of resource use or sustainable development.
Using the Earth's resources and sustainable development exam tips
Marking Points
- Identify that warmth is obtained by burning fuels such as wood, coal, natural gas or by using electricity from renewable and non-renewable sources.
- State that shelter requires construction materials including timber, clay, limestone, slate, glass and metals, each obtained from the Earth.
- Explain that food production relies on natural resources such as soil, fresh water, sunlight and pollinating insects, often enhanced by agriculture.
- Describe transport as dependent on fuels such as petrol, diesel and biodiesel, and on manufactured materials including steel, aluminium, glass and plastics.
- Recognise that using any resource has consequences, including depletion of finite reserves and release of waste or greenhouse gases.
- Compare renewable and non-renewable resources when justifying a material choice for a stated purpose.
- Define natural resources as materials obtained directly from the environment, such as wild plants, animals, timber, coal and crude oil.
- Explain that agriculture supplements natural supply by farming crops and livestock for food, fibres and biofuel crops.
- Identify timber as a natural resource from forests that can be managed sustainably by replanting felled trees.
- State that clothing uses natural fibres such as cotton, wool and silk, and synthetic fibres such as polyester made from crude oil.
- Describe fuels as including wood, coal, crude oil, natural gas, biodiesel and bioethanol, and classify each as renewable or non-renewable.
- Discuss how agriculture increases food and fuel supply but requires land, water, fertiliser and energy, affecting sustainability.
- State that finite resources cannot be replaced once they are used up, so their supply is limited.
- Identify examples from each sphere: metal ores and crude oil from the Earth, water and sodium chloride from the oceans, nitrogen and oxygen from the atmosphere.
- Explain that raw materials are processed, for example fractional distillation of crude oil or reduction of iron ore, before they provide useful energy or materials.
- Recognise that processing requires energy and can produce waste or emissions, so it has environmental and economic costs.
- Link the idea of finite supply to the need to conserve resources, recycle metals and develop renewable alternatives.
- Describe how chemistry improves agricultural processes, for example the Haber process making ammonia for fertilisers to increase food production.
- Describe how chemistry improves industrial processes, for example using catalysts to increase rate and reduce energy demand.
- Define sustainable development as meeting current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
- Give a specific example of sustainable practice, such as recycling metals, using renewable feedstock or designing biodegradable polymers.
- Explain the benefit of a named improvement in terms of reduced waste, lower energy use or conserved finite resources.
- Identify natural products such as rubber, cotton, wool, silk, timber and natural fertilisers.
- Identify agricultural products such as crops, manure and compost that can supplement natural products.
- Identify synthetic products such as synthetic rubber, polyester, nylon and synthetic fertilisers that can replace natural products.
- Explain that agricultural products come from farming while synthetic products are made by chemical processes, often from crude oil.
- State whether a named product supplements or replaces a natural product, using the correct term.
- Defines finite as a resource being used up faster than it is replaced, so it will eventually run out.
- Defines renewable as a resource replaced at the same rate as it is used, so it will not run out.
- Classifies named examples correctly, such as crude oil, coal and metal ores as finite, and solar, wind and hydroelectric power as renewable.
- Uses the timescale of replacement to justify a classification, for example fossil fuels form over millions of years but are extracted in decades.
- Applies the rate-of-use idea to borderline cases such as timber or fresh water, explaining that they are renewable only when managed sustainably.
- Interprets given information, such as reserve figures or formation times, to decide which category a resource belongs to.
- Reads axes, scales, units and keys correctly before quoting any value from a chart, graph or table.
- Extracts specific values, such as the energy supplied by one resource in a given year, with correct units.
- Describes trends, for example a steady fall in coal use or a rise in renewable electricity generation over time.
- Compares two resources by reading values from the same chart or table and stating which is larger or changing faster.
- Interprets the trend in terms of sustainability, linking a falling reserve or rising renewable share to finite or renewable classification.
- Recognises that projected data depends on assumptions and should not be treated as a measured result.
- Convert each data value into standard form before comparing, for example 4.0 × 10⁴ dm³ rather than 40 000 dm³.
- Divide the larger value by the smaller value to find the ratio, then round that ratio to the nearest power of ten.
- State the comparison as a multiple or as a number of orders of magnitude, for example 'about 10² times greater' or 'roughly two orders of magnitude larger'.
- Link the size of the difference to the resource or sustainability context, explaining whether the difference is significant for the decision being made.
- Use the calculated order of magnitude to support a conclusion, such as identifying which process uses a much greater share of a limited resource.
Examiner Tips
- 💡Link each named use to a specific resource and its origin, for example shelter to limestone quarried for cement.
- 💡When asked to evaluate, compare a renewable and a non-renewable option using at least two criteria such as availability and waste.
- 💡Use precise terms such as finite, renewable, non-renewable and sustainable rather than vague words like natural or eco-friendly.
- 💡For each product named in the statement, give one natural source and one agricultural source where both exist.
- 💡When comparing fibres or fuels, use a table of criteria such as renewability, land use and energy cost to structure your answer.
- 💡Check that every fuel you name is correctly labelled renewable or non-renewable before finishing the answer.
- 💡Name the sphere for each resource you quote, for example 'haematite from the Earth's crust', to show precise knowledge.
- 💡When asked why a resource is finite, refer to the rate of formation being far slower than the rate of use.
- 💡Use a named process and its product to show how a raw material becomes a useful energy source or material.
- 💡Quote the definition of sustainable development closely, including both current and future generations.
- 💡Use one agriculture example and one industry example so both parts of the statement are covered.
- 💡Link each improvement to a measurable benefit such as lower energy use, less waste or conserved raw material.
- 💡Use a table to compare natural, agricultural and synthetic products if the question asks for several examples.
- 💡Name specific products rather than vague categories, such as 'polyester' instead of 'synthetic fibre'.
- 💡Check whether the question asks for one example or several, and give the required number to avoid losing marks.
- 💡Quote the replacement rate or timescale from the data when justifying each classification.
- 💡Use the words finite and renewable precisely, and avoid the vague term non-renewable unless the question uses it.
- 💡For a table or chart, compare the rate of use with the rate of replacement before writing your conclusion.
- 💡Quote figures with units and say which resource and year they refer to.
- 💡Use comparative language such as higher than, lower than or increased by when describing trends.
- 💡If asked to interpret, link the pattern to what it means for resource use or sustainability, not just what the graph shows.
- 💡Show the division you perform, not just the final order of magnitude, so your reasoning is visible.
- 💡Use the phrase 'orders of magnitude' correctly, linking it to powers of ten rather than to a simple subtraction.
- 💡Finish with a contextual judgement, for example whether the difference is large enough to affect sustainable use of the resource.
Common Mistakes
- Treating all Earth resources as infinite: correct by classifying coal, oil, metal ores and limestone as finite, while timber and solar energy can be renewed.
- Assuming transport only needs fuel: correct by noting that vehicles and roads also require metals, glass, rubber and plastics.
- Confusing warmth with temperature: correct by linking warmth to energy transfer from burning fuel or electrical heating, not to a temperature scale reading.
- Calling farmed crops natural resources without qualification: correct by saying agriculture supplements natural resources rather than replacing them.
- Believing all clothing fibres are natural: correct by naming synthetic fibres such as polyester and nylon, which come from crude oil.
- Classifying biodiesel as non-renewable: correct by stating it is renewable because it is produced from crops that can be regrown.
- Saying finite means 'will run out soon' rather than that the total quantity is limited and cannot be replenished; correct by defining finite as a fixed stock that is used up permanently.
- Treating air or seawater as infinite because they are abundant; correct by noting that useful components such as helium or fresh water can still be limited or costly to obtain.
- Assuming all resources are used directly; correct by giving a processing step, such as cracking crude oil fractions to make alkenes for polymers.
- Confusing sustainable with renewable; correct by stating that sustainable development balances present and future needs, while renewable describes a resource that is replenished.
- Claiming chemistry only causes pollution; correct by giving a beneficial example such as fertiliser production or catalytic converters.
- Describing recycling as simply 'good for the environment' without a mechanism; correct by explaining that it saves energy and conserves finite ore.
- Confusing supplement with replace; a supplement is used alongside the natural product, while a replacement is used instead of it.
- Giving a synthetic product without naming the natural product it replaces; always name both for full credit.
- Assuming all synthetic products are made from crude oil; some are made from other raw materials, so check the example.
- Calling any natural material renewable because it comes from the Earth. Correction: renewable depends on replacement rate, not origin, so coal and oil are finite.
- Treating nuclear fuel as renewable because it does not produce carbon dioxide when used. Correction: uranium is mined from finite ore deposits, so it is finite.
- Assuming all biomass is automatically renewable. Correction: wood is renewable only if trees are replanted at least as fast as they are cut down.
- Reading a value from the wrong axis or ignoring the scale, such as treating each gridline as one unit when it represents ten. Correction: check the axis label and count gridlines carefully before quoting a number.
- Describing a trend without quoting any figures. Correction: support each statement with a value and unit taken from the chart or table.
- Treating a projected future value as a certainty. Correction: state that it is a prediction based on the assumptions given in the source.
- Subtracting the exponents instead of dividing the values; correction: divide the actual values, then express the ratio as a power of ten.
- Treating any numerical difference as significant; correction: compare the ratio with powers of ten and judge whether the difference is large enough to matter in context.
- Leaving values in ordinary form and misplacing zeros; correction: convert to standard form first so the exponent shows the order of magnitude clearly.