Finite and renewable resources/Life Cycle Assessments

list some human uses of the Earth’s resources

• Water → drinking, farming, industry

• Plants/animals → food, clothing, fuel

• Fossil fuels → energy (coal, oil, gas)

give examples of a finite and a renewable resource.

• Finite: Crude oil, fossil fuels

• Renewable: Wind, solar energy, hydropower

What does "explain the use of a resource" mean in an exam?

It means describe what it’s used for, why it’s useful, and sometimes the environmental or sustainability impact.

What is the role of chemistry in agriculture?

Chemistry helps make fertilizers and pesticides to improve crop yield and protect plants.

What is the role of chemistry in industry?

Chemistry develops better materials and methods to make products more efficiently and sustainably.

state an example of a natural product

that is supplemented or replaced by

agricultural or synthetic products.

Natural Product	Replaced by
Cotton (plant)	Polyester (synthetic)
Rubber (from trees)	Synthetic rubber (from crude oil)

Interpreting and drawing conclusions from graphs, charts, tables, and prose

You'll need to:

• Read data carefully

• Spot trends (e.g. rising CO₂ levels)

• Compare values using orders of magnitude (e.g. 100 is 10x bigger than 10)

• Look for anomalies or evaluate how reliable a dataset is

What is a finite resource?

A resource that will run out and cannot be replaced in a human lifetime (e.g., crude oil, metal ores).

What is a renewable resource?

A resource that can be replaced naturally and used again (e.g., solar energy, wood, wind).

What does it mean to “draw conclusions” from data?

Use the info to make a clear, logical summary or decision, and check if the data is valid or reliable.

What are the 4 stages of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?

1. Raw material extraction

2. Manufacture and processing

3. Use

4. Disposal or end-of-life

Why are LCAs important?

LCAs help assess the environmental impact of a product from start to finish, allowing us to make more sustainable choices.

How can LCAs be misused?

Companies might present selective data to make products seem more eco-friendly than they are (greenwashing).

What are the limits of LCAs?

• Some impacts are hard to measure (e.g., pollution from mining).

• Value judgments (opinions) can bias results.

• Not always complete or transparent.

Compare plastic and paper bags using LCA (basic version).

• Plastic: uses crude oil, low energy to produce, long-lasting but not biodegradable.

• Paper: renewable resource, higher energy to make, breaks down faster, but not as durable.

To carry out an LCA what do scientists have to measure the impact of

1. extracting the raw materials

2. processing the raw materials

3. how the product is used

4. how the product is transported

5. how the product is disposed of at the end of its life