Finite and renewable resources
Resource that can only be used once and is in limited supply. For example, oil is a finite resource. from the The outer shell of the surface of the planet., oceans and atmosphere will one day run out. They can be processed to provide The capacity of a system to do work or the quantity required for mechanical work to take place. Measured in joules (J). For example, a man transfers 100 J of energy when moving a wheelbarrow. and useful materials. Resources which will not run out in the foreseeable future. This could be because the reserves of the resources is huge, or because the current rate of extraction is low. are those which will not run out in the foreseeable future.
One of the most important finite resources in the crust is Mixture of hydrocarbons, mainly alkanes, formed over millions of years from the remains of ancient dead marine organisms.. Crude oil is processed through In fractional distillation a mixture of several substances, such as crude oil, is distilled and the evaporated components are collected as they condense at different temperatures. and cracking to produce a wide variety of useful chemicals. Sea water is a renewable resource because there is such a large amount of it that humans will not use it all up.
Sometimes natural products can be supplemented or replaced by Agriculture, or farming, is the cultivation of crops and animals to produce food and other products. and A material made by a chemical process, not naturally occurring. products. For example, until 1910 all A nutrient added to the soil to increase the soil fertility. were obtained from Minerals that have been made through the formation of the world that can be used for human benefit. such as Animal dung (solid waste) used as fertiliser..
However, the The industrial chemical process that makes ammonia by reacting nitrogen and hydrogen together. enabled humans to produce fertilisers from nitrogen in the air, and has allowed synthetic fertilisers to be produced. A material made by a chemical process, not naturally occurring. fertilisers have allowed intensive farming to become widespread, which has meant that we can produce enough food to support the growing world population
Another example of resource exploitation is copper. The graph below shows how the estimated global population has increased since 1900.
The graph below shows how the global use of copper has changed since 1900.
There is a clear A relationship between two sets of data, such that when one set changes you would expect the other set to change as well. between the increase in global population and the demand for copper. Learn more about sustainable copper extraction.
Question
By what factor did the production of copper increase between 1920 and 1995?
It increased by a factor of ten (from approximately 1 million tonnes per year to approximately 10 million tonnes per year).