Land and Water Use

Issue at the Macroscopic Level

• There is only a finite amount of crude materials we can extract from
the Earth.
• Oil is extracted and is transported to a refinery where the crude oil is
separated into hydrocarbon monomers such as ethylene, after this it
undergoes a process known as polymerization where it is linked with
many monomers to form the polymer polyethylene, these processes
are the source of plastic ware, plastic bottles, and plastic bags.
• Using plastic ware instead of silver or metal cutlery , plastic bottles
over one reusable bottle, and plastic bags over canvas bags is
wasteful as it takes raw material from the Earth and it ends up in a
landfill where it needs many years to decompose leaving valuable raw
materials untapped and going to waste. If recycling is chosen instead
then this plastic if repurposed into new plastic products.
Issue at the Macroscopic Level
Personal Investigation
Next Generation Science Standards:
Disciplinary Core Ideas
• The rock cycle is a flow of rock materials (made up of different atoms and
molecules in the form of minerals), these require an energy input to move
between different locations and forms (igneous, metamorphic, and
sedimentary). Crude oil comes from the dead matter of plants and
animals that under heat and pressure form the carbon source we extract
as oil, usually from the pores of sedimentary rock. After undergoing
several chemical changes this oil can be fashioned into plastic objects. I
will be focusing on plastic cutlery, plastic bags and plastic bottles. After
using these the consumer has a choice; to either throw them away, where
they will end up in a landfill, or they can recycle them to be used again as
plastic products. In the landfill the plastic may take thousands of years to
break down into its original molecules, many of these products may end
up in the ocean where they can entangle animals, and be ingested by
animals and it is a waste of our very limited supply of natural oil. If it
recycled however they may be repurposed into new plastic objects.
Next Generation Science Standards:
Disciplinary Core Ideas
• Energy flows and matter cycles within and among Earth’s systems,
including the sun and Earth’s interior as primary energy sources.
• Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and
biosphere for different resources, many of which are limited or not
renewable. Resources are distributed unevenly around the planet
as a result of past geologic processes.
• Things people do can affect the environment but they can make
choices to reduce their impacts.
• Living things can affect the physical characteristics of their
environment.
Issue at Molecular Level
Crude oil starts out as a mixture of hydrocarbons and different
elements such as Sulfur, Nitrogen and various metals. It undergoes
a physical change as some hydrocarbon components get separated
into useful monomers such as ethylene. These ethylene monomers
undergo a chemical change known as polymerization where they
are connected to other ethylene monomers forming the polymers
known as polyethylenes. These polyethylenes undergo physical
changes such as stretching to get fashioned into plastic products
such as water bottles, plastic ware and plastic bags. Once these
products get consumed the polyetheline in these products
combined with the waste added to them end up in landfill, if they are
thrown away. If the products are recycled they are either melted
down and fashioned into the same kind of products (a physical
change) or they are fashioned into other plastic products
undergoing chemical changes to be turn
Issue at Molecular Level
Rock Cycle
Atoms Cycle
Atmosphere: The CO2 that plants use for photosynthesis comes
from the atmosphere, either from respiration of animals or many
years ago from outgassing from the Earth’s core
Biosphere: Once the CO2 is absorbed by the plants it is turned into
the hydrocarbon material that will eventually become crude oil
(through photosynthesis).
Geosphere: After a very long time the remains of these plants
become buried beneath the weight and pressure of the sedimentary
rocks above them as well as their own accumulated weight, now
this material can be extracted from the land through oil wells.
Biosphere: Hydrocarbon monomers from crude oil are extracted and
undergo polymerization and are ultimately used in the production of
plastic products, by using plastic products for consuming food such
as with plastic cutlery some of it may end up inside a human, and
when it is thrown away it may fall off the freighter taking garbage to
Atoms Cycle