C1.19a Investigating recycling Name
Class
Date
Use the Internet to find out information to complete the table below. Your teacher may suggest some suitable websites.
Metal
Number of years of ore left at current rate of use
Aluminium
Iron
Lead
Nickel
Tin
Copper
Zinc
Š Pearson Education 2010. Edexcel GCSE Science Activity Pack This document may have been altered from the original.
Percentage of metal made using recycled metals
Percentage of energy use saved by recycling
C1.19b Recycling aluminium Name
Class
Date
Aluminium is very expensive to extract from its ore. Recycled aluminium is cheaper. This activity looks at how much aluminium is recycled.
Apparatus waste aluminium balances
Method A Collect all the aluminium used in your home during a week. This might include drinks cans, foil, milk bottle tops and food trays. B Wash and dry the aluminium before you bring it to school. C Measure the mass of all your aluminium when you bring it to the lesson.
Recording your results 1
Record the mass of your waste aluminium.
2
List the different items you have collected in your waste.
Considering your results/conclusions 3
Work out how much aluminium your house uses in one year.
4
Work out the average mass of aluminium used by each person in your house in a year.
5
There are about 60 million people in the UK. Work out the total mass of aluminium, in tonnes, used by everyone in the UK in one year if they all use the same amount as the average person in your house.
6
In 2008, the amount of aluminium made in the UK was 960 000 tonnes. Some of this is new aluminium extracted from ores, and some is made from recycled aluminium. a How does this compare to your figure?
Š Pearson Education 2010. Edexcel GCSE Science Activity Pack This document may have been altered from the original.
Sheet 1 of 2
C.1.19b Recycling aluminium (cont.) b Suggest some reasons why your figure is different from this figure.
7
Aluminium costs about ÂŁ1.40 per kilogram to extract from its ores. a How much does all the aluminium that your household uses in a year cost?
b How much does all the aluminium used in the UK in a year cost?
Š Pearson Education 2010. Edexcel GCSE Science Activity Pack This document may have been altered from the original.
Sheet 2 of 2
C1.19c The pros and cons of mining metal ores Read the information below. Decide whether or not we should be mining as many ores as we are at the moment. Prepare a presentation to present your views to the class. Advantages of mining ores
Disadvantages of mining ores
●
It provides people with jobs
●
●
This creates wealth for the local community and the country
The effects on the environment such as pollution, damaging the landscape and production of carbon dioxide (from energy use during mining and transporting the ore)
●
The amount of waste left when the metal is removed from the ore at the mine
Price of metals (per kilogram in 2010) ●
Aluminium = £1.40
●
Copper = £4.70
●
Gold = £22 700
●
Subsidence in underground mines
●
Lead = £1.62
●
●
Platinum = £31 500
Ores are a non-renewable resource so mining is not sustainable
●
Tin = £11.10
The amount produced in the world each year (excluding scrap)
How long the current reserves of the metal will last at current rate of use
●
Aluminium = 32 000 000 tonnes
●
Aluminium = 50–100 years
●
Copper = 12 000 000 tonnes
●
Copper = 50–75 years
●
Gold = 2600 tonnes
●
Gold = 15–20 years
●
Lead = 3 800 000 tonnes
●
Lead = 40–50 years
●
Tin = 660 000 tonnes
●
Tin = 30–40 years
●
Zinc = 7 100 000 tonnes
●
Zinc = 30–40 years
How to avoid running out of metals ●
Find new sources of metal ores
●
Find ways to extract metals from ores containing only small amounts of the metal compounds
●
Find materials to replace use of metals
●
Consume less
●
Recycle metals
© Pearson Education 2010. Edexcel GCSE Science Activity Pack This document may have been altered from the original.