Key term
AQA GCSE Chemistry 8462
Atomic Structure and the Periodic Table
Topic overviewAtoms, elements and compoundsWord equations, symbols and balanced equationsMixturesFrom the plum pudding model to the nuclear modelBohr, Chadwick and the modern model of the atomRelative electrical charges of subatomic particlesSize and mass of atomsRelative atomic mass and electronic structureThe periodic tableDevelopment of the periodic tableMetals and non-metalsGroup 0Group 1Group 7Transition metals, and how they differ from Group 1
Bonding, Structure, and the Properties of Matter
Topic overviewChemical bonds, including metallic bondingIonic bondingIonic compoundsCovalent bonding and how it is representedThe three states of matter and changes of statePredicting state, state symbols, and the limits of the particle modelProperties of ionic compoundsProperties of small moleculesPolymers and giant covalent structuresProperties of metals and alloys, and why metals conductDiamond and graphiteGraphene and fullerenesSizes of particles and their propertiesUses of nanoparticles
Chemical Analysis
Chemical Changes
Topic overviewThe reactivity seriesMetal oxides, extraction, and redox in terms of electronsAcids reacting with metals, neutralisation and saltsSoluble saltsThe pH scale and neutralisationTitrationsThe process of electrolysis, and molten ionic compoundsUsing electrolysis to extract metalsElectrolysis of aqueous solutions
Chemistry of the Atmosphere
Topic overviewThe Earth's early atmosphereHow oxygen increased and carbon dioxide decreasedThe gases in today's atmosphere, and which are greenhouse gasesHuman activities which contribute to an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphereGlobal climate change and carbon footprintsAtmospheric pollutants from fuels, and their effects
Energy Changes
Organic Chemistry
Topic overviewCrude oil, hydrocarbons and alkanesFractional distillation and petrochemicalsProperties of hydrocarbonsCracking, and testing alkenes with bromine waterWhy cracking is useful, and equations for itStructure and formulae of alkenesReactions of alkenesAlcoholsCarboxylic acidsAddition polymerisationAmino acids, DNA and naturally occurring polymers
Quantitative Chemistry
The Rate and Extent of Chemical Change
Using Resources
Topic overviewUsing the Earth's resources and sustainable developmentProducing potable water in the UKDesalination, and analysing water samplesWaste water treatmentLife cycle assessmentWays of reducing the use of resourcesCorrosion and its preventionAlloys as useful materialsGlass, clay ceramics and polymersComposites, and comparing materialsThe Haber processProduction and uses of NPK fertilisers
Using Resources
- 12 subtopics
- 36 things to know
- Paper 2
What Using Resources covers
Using Resources is examined in Chemistry Paper 2. It covers using the Earth's resources and sustainable development, producing potable water in the UK, desalination, and analysing water samples, waste water treatment, life cycle assessment, ways of reducing the use of resources, corrosion and its prevention, alloys as useful materials, glass, clay ceramics and polymers, composites, and comparing materials, the Haber process and production and uses of NPK fertilisers.
Where it is assessed
Paper 2
Chemistry Paper 2: 1 hour 45 minutes, 100 marks, 50% of the GCSE.
Check the AQA specification ↗The 12 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Using the Earth's resources and sustainable developmentHuman needs met by the Earth's resources, how agriculture supplements natural resources, finite and renewable resources, sustainable development and how chemistry improves agriculture and industry, natural products replaced by synthetic ones, and interpreting data in tables, frequency tables, bar charts and histograms, including orders of magnitude.Open →
- Producing potable water in the UKPotable water and why it is not chemically pure, the low levels of dissolved salts and microbes it needs, why methods vary with local supplies, fresh water from rain, and the UK method of choosing a source, passing water through filter beds and sterilising with chlorine, ozone or ultraviolet light.Open →
- Desalination, and analysing water samplesDesalination of salty water by distillation or reverse osmosis and why it is expensive, comparing the treatment of ground water and salty water, why filtering comes before sterilising, analysing water samples for pH, dissolved solids and purity, purifying a sample by distillation, and collecting representative water samples.Open →
- Waste water treatmentWhere waste water comes from and why it must be treated, what sewage and industrial waste need removed, screening, sedimentation into sludge and effluent, anaerobic and aerobic treatment, and comparing ground, salty and waste water as sources.Open →
- Life cycle assessmentWhat a life cycle assessment is and its four stages from raw materials to disposal, what can be quantified and why value judgements make it subjective, selective assessments in advertising, and paper against plastic bags.Open →
- Ways of reducing the use of resourcesReducing, reusing and recycling to cut the use of limited resources and energy, materials made from limited raw materials such as metals, glass, clay ceramics and plastics, the impacts of quarrying and mining, the difference between reuse and recycling, and how glass, metals, steel and aluminium are recycled.Open →
- Corrosion and its preventionWhat corrosion is, why iron needs both air and water to rust, barrier coatings such as grease, paint and electroplating, aluminium's oxide layer, sacrificial protection and galvanising, why tin fails once scratched, and rusting experiments.Open →
- Alloys as useful materialsWhy most everyday metals are alloys, bronze and brass and their uses, gold alloys and carat values, high and low carbon steels, stainless steel and aluminium alloys, and matching the properties of each alloy to uses such as car panels, aircraft bodies, cutlery and silver jewellery.Open →
- Glass, clay ceramics and polymersHow soda-lime and borosilicate glass are made and why borosilicate suits laboratory beakers, making clay ceramics such as pottery and bricks, how monomers and conditions decide polymer properties, low and high density poly(ethene), and thermosoftening and thermosetting polymers, their uses and recycling.Open →
- Composites, and comparing materialsHow low and high density poly(ethene) form from ethene, the structures of thermosoftening and thermosetting polymers, composites with a matrix and reinforcement such as concrete, wood and carbon fibre, and comparing density, strength, melting point, brittleness and conductivity to choose a material for a job.Open →
- The Haber processAmmonia manufacture for fertilisers, the raw materials nitrogen and hydrogen and their sources, the iron catalyst and what it does, the conditions of about 450°C and 200 atmospheres and why they are chosen, the word and symbol equations, and separating ammonia and recycling unreacted gases.Open →
- Production and uses of NPK fertilisersNPK fertilisers and the elements they supply, why fertilisers are used, fertilisers as formulations, ammonium salts and nitric acid made from ammonia, ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate, mined potassium salts and phosphate rock, treating phosphate rock with acids to give soluble salts and superphosphates, and laboratory versus industrial production.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Which water source is easiest to make potable and why, what extra does sea water need, and rank ground, sea and waste water.
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Explain why about 200 atmospheres is used rather than a much higher pressure.
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Name four basic human needs that are met using the Earth's resources.
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What is desalination?
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What is a life cycle assessment?
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Name four kinds of material that are produced from limited raw materials.
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What is corrosion?
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Which two metals are mixed to make bronze?
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Which type of glass is most commonly used, and how is it made?
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Explain how low density and high density poly(ethene) can both be made from ethene.
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Which three elements are supplied by an NPK fertiliser?
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Which human need is met when crude oil is separated into petrol and diesel?
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What is potable water?
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When does a country need to desalinate water?
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What must be removed from sewage and agricultural waste water?
Process
Explain why a product's impact is assessed stage by stage rather than as one figure.
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Explain why making a plastic product uses limited resources twice over.
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Which two substances must both be present for iron to rust?
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Which two metals are mixed to make brass?
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What is borosilicate glass made from?
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Explain the difference in structure between a thermosoftening and a thermosetting polymer.
Process
Which compound is manufactured in the Haber process, and what is most of it used for?
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What is an NPK fertiliser made from?
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What is meant by a finite resource?
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State the two things whose levels must be low if water is to be safe for humans to drink.
Process
Name two processes used to desalinate sea water.
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How does the treatment of industrial waste water differ from that of sewage?
Process
At which stage of a life cycle assessment is transport and distribution counted?
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What is the difference between reusing and recycling a product?
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Explain why an iron nail sealed in a tube of dry air does not rust.
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Give a use of bronze.
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Name two clay ceramics.
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What is the reinforcement in a composite?
Process
Name the two raw materials for the Haber process.
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Name two things that ammonia can be used to manufacture.
Take Using Resources further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Potable water vs Pure water
Potable water: safe to drink, with low levels of dissolved salts and microbes. Pure water: a single substance with nothing dissolved, boiling at exactly 100 °C.
Reusing vs Recycling
Reusing: using the same product again as it is, such as a refilled bottle. Recycling: breaking a material down and making it into something new.
Thermosoftening polymer vs Thermosetting polymer
Thermosoftening polymer: chains held by weak forces, so it melts and can be reshaped. Thermosetting polymer: chains joined by strong cross-links, so it does not melt when heated.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Name four basic human needs that are met using the Earth's resources.
Model answer
Warmth, shelter, food and transport.
- 2
Which human need is met when crude oil is separated into petrol and diesel?
Model answer
Transport, because these fuels are burned in vehicle engines.
- 3
What does agriculture add to the natural resources that provide food, timber, clothing and fuels?
Model answer
It supplements them, so far larger and more reliable quantities are available than nature alone would supply.
- 4
What is meant by a finite resource?
Model answer
A resource that is being used up faster than it is replaced, so supplies will eventually run out.
- 5
From which three places are finite resources taken before being processed into energy and materials?
Model answer
The Earth, the oceans and the atmosphere.
- 6
What is sustainable development?
Model answer
Development that meets the needs of people today without preventing future generations from meeting their own needs.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Using Resources revision questions
- What does Using Resources cover in AQA GCSE Chemistry?
- 12 subtopics: using the earth's resources and sustainable development, producing potable water in the uk, desalination, and analysing water samples, waste water treatment, life cycle assessment, ways of reducing the use of resources, corrosion and its prevention, alloys as useful materials, glass, clay ceramics and polymers, composites, and comparing materials, the haber process and production and uses of npk fertilisers. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Using Resources organised?
- By the AQA 8462 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Using Resources, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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