Life cycle assessment (5.10.2.1) | AQA GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy (8464) — Chemistry — Foundation | KnowledgeSet

Life cycle assessment

Chemistry (Combined Science) · GCSE · AQA · AQA GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy (8464) — Chemistry — Foundation · Specification point · 5.10.2.1 · Using resources · Life cycle assessment and recycling

Comparing products using simple LCAs

Life cycle assessment

Limitations of life cycle assessments

Next Steps

Read Notes

Read clear notes for this topic.

Exam Questions

Coming soon

Flashcards

Flip through flashcards to lock it in.

Lesson

Coming soon

Ask Sage

Get help from Sage on this topic.

Learning Objectives

5.10.2.1 Life cycle assessment

Content	Key opportunities for skills development
$Life cycle assessments (LCAs) are carried out to assess the environmental impact of products in each of these stages: extracting and processing raw materials manufacturing and packaging use and operation during its lifetime disposal at the end of its useful life, including transport and distribution at each stage. Use of water, resources, energy sources and production of some wastes can be fairly easily quantified. Allocating numerical values to pollutant effects is less straightforward and requires value judgements, so LCA is not a purely objective process. Selective or abbreviated LCAs can be devised to evaluate a product but these can be misused to reach pre-determined conclusions, eg in support of claims for advertising purposes. Students should be able to carry out simple comparative LCAs for shopping bags made from plastic and paper.$	$WS 1.3, 4, 5 LCAs should be done as a comparison of the impact on the environment of the stages in the life of a product, and only quantified where data is readily available for energy, water, resources and wastes. Interpret LCAs of materials or products given appropriate information. MS 1a Recognise and use expressions in decimal form. MS 1c Use ratios, fractions and percentages. MS 1d$

Content

Key opportunities for skills development

Life cycle assessments (LCAs) are carried out to assess the environmental impact of products in each of these stages: extracting and processing raw materials manufacturing and packaging use and operation during its lifetime disposal at the end of its useful life, including transport and distribution at each stage. Use of water, resources, energy sources and production of some wastes can be fairly easily quantified. Allocating numerical values to pollutant effects is less straightforward and requires value judgements, so LCA is not a purely objective process. Selective or abbreviated LCAs can be devised to evaluate a product but these can be misused to reach pre-determined conclusions, eg in support of claims for advertising purposes. Students should be able to carry out simple comparative LCAs for shopping bags made from plastic and paper.

WS 1.3, 4, 5 LCAs should be done as a comparison of the impact on the environment of the stages in the life of a product, and only quantified where data is readily available for energy, water, resources and wastes. Interpret LCAs of materials or products given appropriate information. MS 1a Recognise and use expressions in decimal form. MS 1c Use ratios, fractions and percentages. MS 1d