Using ResourcesAQA GCSE Chemistry: Topic test

20 questions, 54 marks

AQA GCSE Chemistry

Using Resources topic test

Total 54 marks

Name

Class

Date

1
An off-grid ski lodge in the mountains uses a spring as its water source. The lodge manager wants to know what treatment steps are needed to turn the spring water into potable water, and whether the distilled water used in the kitchen's steam ovens counts as the same thing.
(a)
The spring water used by the lodge contains dissolved minerals and occasional microbes. Which statement correctly distinguishes potable water from pure water?
[1 mark]
APotable water is safe to drink but may still contain low levels of dissolved substances, while pure water contains only H2O molecules
BPotable water contains no dissolved substances at all, while pure water may contain low levels of salts
CPotable water and pure water always mean exactly the same thing
DPotable water must be produced only by distillation, while pure water can come from any source
(b)
Which of these is a recognised method of sterilising water during potable water production?
[1 mark]
AReverse osmosis
BChlorination
CDistillation
DFiltration through sand and gravel
(c)
Explain why the spring water at the lodge cannot simply be piped straight to guests' taps without any treatment, even though it looks clean.
[2 marks]
Total for question 1: 4 marks
2
An environmental engineering team is testing phytomining on a former industrial brownfield site, where copper compounds remain in the soil at concentrations too low for conventional mining to be worthwhile. Fast-growing plants are grown on the contaminated soil, then harvested and burned to produce an ash containing copper compounds.
(a)
What must be done to the copper compounds in the ash produced by burning the harvested plants, in order to obtain the metal itself?
[1 mark]
AThe ash is simply cooled and used directly as pure copper metal
BThe ash is melted directly, since copper compounds have the same properties as copper metal
CThe copper compounds in the ash are dissolved and the copper displaced using scrap iron, or extracted by electrolysis
DThe copper compounds evaporate on heating, leaving no copper behind
(b)
Which of these is an advantage of phytomining and bioleaching compared with traditional mining methods for obtaining metal from low-grade ore or contaminated land?
[1 mark]
AThey produce metal instantly with no further processing needed
BThey only work for gold and silver
CThey always produce metal faster than traditional mining
DThey can extract metal from resources not worth mining by traditional methods, and can have a lower environmental impact
(c)
Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of using phytomining to obtain copper from the brownfield site, compared with digging a new open-cast mine elsewhere.
[2 marks]
Total for question 2: 4 marks
3
A soil scientist is investigating why crop yields on a farm have declined over several seasons, and is comparing farming without fertiliser to farming using industrially produced NPK fertiliser, focusing on how the nitrogen compound in the fertiliser was originally manufactured.
(a)
The soil scientist explains that the nitrogen fertiliser used on the farm was made using the Haber process. State the two raw materials used in the Haber process, where each comes from, and name the type of reaction that converts them into ammonia.
[3 marks]
(b)
The soil scientist notes that only some of the ammonia produced is converted into fertiliser; the rest of the unreacted nitrogen and hydrogen gases are recycled back into the reactor. Explain why this recycling step makes the overall Haber process more efficient, and explain, in terms of reaction type, why not all of the nitrogen and hydrogen can be converted to ammonia in a single pass through the reactor.
[4 marks]
Total for question 3: 7 marks
4
A property developer is planning a new housing estate and must decide between using virgin (newly extracted) building materials or recycled/reclaimed materials, considering the long-term sustainability of the development and requirements to minimise environmental impact throughout the estate's lifetime.
(a)
Explain what is meant by sustainable development, distinguish between finite and renewable resources, and discuss why the developer's choice between virgin and recycled building materials matters for meeting the needs of both current and future residents.
[6 marks]
(b)
The developer commissions a life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare using virgin materials with using recycled materials for the estate. Describe the four stages of an LCA, and evaluate why the LCA might not give a completely objective comparison between the two options.
[6 marks]
Total for question 4: 12 marks
5
A renewable energy company is assessing whether a waste water treatment works could generate its own electricity from the sewage sludge produced during treatment, using anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, as part of a report on making the works more energy self-sufficient.
(a)
Before the waste water reaches the stage where sludge and biogas could be produced, large solid objects and grit must first be removed. What is this first stage of waste water treatment called?
[1 mark]
AScreening and grit removal
BSedimentation
CAerobic biological treatment
DAnaerobic digestion
(b)
After screening and grit removal, the waste water passes to sedimentation. What are the two products formed at the sedimentation stage?
[1 mark]
APotable water and pure water
BSewage sludge and effluent
CAmmonia and hydrogen
DBiogas and fertiliser
(c)
Explain how anaerobic digestion of the sewage sludge could allow the treatment works to become more energy self-sufficient, as the company is investigating.
[2 marks]
Total for question 5: 4 marks
6
A polar research station currently relies entirely on diesel shipped in by boat once a year to power its generators and heaters. The station's managers are assessing whether locally available renewable resources could replace some of this diesel use.
(a)
Diesel fuel, made from crude oil, is a finite resource. Which statement correctly describes a finite resource?
[1 mark]
AIt can be replenished naturally within a human lifetime
BIt cannot be used to generate energy
CIt exists in limited amounts and will eventually run out if used up faster than it forms
DIt is always more expensive than a renewable resource
(b)
The managers are considering wind power generated locally at the station as a replacement for some diesel use. Why is wind classified as a renewable resource?
[1 mark]
AIt is a finite resource that is being replaced by fossil fuels
BIt is manufactured artificially at the station
CIt only exists in polar regions
DIt will naturally replenish/be available again on a timescale useful to humans, so it will not run out
(c)
State two natural resources, other than crude oil, that humans use, and for each say whether it is supplemented or replaced by an agricultural or synthetic product.
[2 marks]
Total for question 6: 4 marks
7
A drinks manufacturer is deciding whether to package a new drink in single-use steel cans or in reusable glass bottles that customers return to be washed and refilled, and commissions a comparison of the two packaging options across their full life cycle.
(a)
State three factors the manufacturer's life cycle assessment should quantify when comparing the steel cans and the reusable glass bottles.
[3 marks]
(b)
Explain why reusable glass bottles might have a lower overall environmental impact than single-use steel cans over their full life cycle, and explain one way the manufacturer's comparison could be biased to favour whichever option it prefers.
[4 marks]
Total for question 7: 7 marks
8
A greenhouse-based vertical farming company grows crops indoors using a closed-loop system: it treats recycled waste water on-site to produce the water it uses for irrigation, and it uses NPK fertiliser, made in a Haber-process plant elsewhere, dissolved in that water to feed the crops.
(a)
Describe the treatment steps the company's on-site plant would need to use to convert waste water into water suitable for use, and explain how these steps differ from the steps used to make water from a salty source potable.
[6 marks]
(b)
The company buys NPK fertiliser containing compounds of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Explain where the nitrogen-containing compound in the fertiliser originally comes from, describe how phosphate rock is converted into a fertiliser the crops can use, and explain why supplying all three of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is necessary for the crops rather than nitrogen alone.
[6 marks]
Total for question 8: 12 marks

End of questions