ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Learning Outcome 1

Crude oil is a raw material used to make polymers such as poly(ethene), poly(propene) and PVC.

Polymers are waterproof and resistant to chemicals, so they have many useful applications
Crude oil is the raw material for making polymers
Choose the correct word from each pair in the sentences below.

The raw material used to make polymers comes from (crude oil / coal)

The most common polymer used is (polythene / polyvinyl chloride)

Most polymers consist of a (long / short) chain of molecules.

Plastics are (polymers / monomers).
Polythene has many useful applications
Which property of polythene makes it useful for each of the following?
Circle the correct property.
1.
Used as containers to store acids
non- toxic / good insulator / resistant to corrosion
2.
Used for plastic carrier bags
cheap and strong / lightweight / good insulator
3.
Used for buckets, washing up bowls and squeezy bottles
easily moulded / good insulator / unreactive
4.
Used for making raincoats
waterproof / good insulator / flexible
5.
Used to wrap food
able to be made into a thin film / unreactive / strong
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Learning Outcome 2

Many polymers are not biodegradable, so they are not broken down by microbes. This can lead to
problems with waste disposal.
Read the statements and tick each one to say whether it is TRUE or FALSE.
Statements about polythene
TRUE
FALSE
Easily shaped
Excellent electrical conductor
Does not rust
Sturdy
Affected by the weather
Hard wearing
Waterproof
Relatively cheap
Can be affected by many chemicals
It is easy to recycle
Cannot be softened when heated
Can be used to make washing up bowls, milk bottles, bags, sandwich
boxes, squeezy bottles and wrapping film
Biodegradable, which means it can easily rot or decompose
Polythene is not biodegradable
Disposal of polythene cause litter problems
Supermarkets encourage recycling of bags
One method of disposal is by incineration (burning)
When polythene is burnt, it produces toxic (poisonous) fumes
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Key points:

Not biodegradable, leads to waste disposal problem and non-rotting litter.

Landfill sites are getting full.

Incineration produces toxic gases.

Difficult to recycle because of separation into different types of polymers and the different physical
properties.
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Learning Outcome 3

Vegetable oils are important foods and fuels as they provide a lot of energy.

Oils do not dissolve in water. They can be used to make emulsions.
Vegetable Oils:
 Groundnut
 Rape seed
 Soya
 Sesame
 Corn
 Coconut
 Castor
 Grape seed oil
 Olive
 Sunflower
Complete the statements by choosing the correct word from the brackets.
Vegetable oil has a (higher / lower) boiling point than water and is used in cooking.
Vegetable oils provide (more / less) energy than the same mass of carbohydrates
or proteins.
Emulsions:
Oil does not dissolve in water.
An emulsion is a colloidal mixture of oil and water.
Examples are milk, mayonnaise and many sauces.
An emulsifier keeps the two mixed together.
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Learning Outcome 4

Vegetable oils have higher boiling points than water and so can be used to cook foods at higher
temperatures than by boiling. Using oil produces quicker cooking and different flavours but increases
the energy that the food produces when it is eaten.
Complete the sentences by using the words from the box below.
bad
seeds
crushed
distillation
permanent
vegetable
faster
tastes
energy
fried
fruit
absorbs
food
crispier
pressed
higher
impurities
Extracting vegetable oil
Some plants produce f____________ and s____________ that contain a lot of oil.
The oil from these fruits and seeds can be used for f____________ or for fuel.
To extract the oil the fruits or seeds need to be c____________ and then p____________.
D____________ refines oil and removes water and any i____________.
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Cooking with vegetable oil
When we cook food chemical reactions cause p____________ changes to the food.
When v____________ oil is used to cook food it causes different changes than when it is cooked in water.
This is because vegetable oil has a h____________ boiling point compared to water.
Food cooked in vegetable oil cooks much f____________, the outside is usually c____________, turns a
different colour and t____________ different.
Cooking food in vegetable oil a____________ some of the oil. Vegetable oil contains a lot more
e____________ compared to foods cooked in water this is why eating too much f____________ food can
be b____________ for you!
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Learning Outcome 5

The Earth’s crust and the upper part of the mantle are cracked into a number of large pieces, called
tectonic plates.

Convection currents within the Earth’s mantle cause the plates to move at speeds of a few
centimetres per year. The movements can be sudden and disastrous. Earthquake and/or volcanic
eruptions occur at the boundaries between these plates.
Tectonic plates:
Complete the sentences by using the words from the box below.
active
away
collide
rub
slowly
towards
currents
thin
mountains
plates
volcanic
year

The Earth’s crust is relatively t___________.

It is made up of a number of sections called p_______________ .

Convection c___________________ within the Earth’s mantle cause the plates to move.

These plates move very s____________________ , only a few centimetres per
y_____________ .

In some places these plates move a_____________ from each other and in
other areas they move t______________ each other.

When plates collide they can cause the surface of the Earth to be squeezed and
form m___________________ .

When plate edges r_________ against each other, they cause earthquakes.

Plate boundaries are the region where Earth is geologically a______________ .

This means there is a lot of v__________________ activity and there are many
earthquakes.
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Learning Outcome 5
The earth has a layered structure
Match each part of the Earth to its correct description by drawing a line across.
Part of the Earth
Description
Crust
beneath the crust, hot semi-liquid rock
Mantle
solid rock, nickel and iron
Inner core
dense liquid
Outer core
thick outer layer of solid rock
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Learning Outcome 7

During the first billion years of the Earth’s existence, there was intense volcanic activity. This
released the gases that formed the early atmosphere and water vapour that condensed to form the
oceans. The early atmosphere was mainly carbon dioxide.
Intensive volcanic activity released gases
Complete the sentences by using the words from the box below.
activity
atmosphere
carbon dioxide
Earth’s
gases
nitrogen
noble
oxygen

vapour
During the first billion years of the E____________ existence, there was intense
volcanic a__________________ .

This activity released g_________________________ which then formed
the Earth’s a_________________ .

Water v____________________ condensed to form the oceans.

During this period the Earth’s atmosphere was probably mainly
c__________________ and little or no oxygen.

About four fifths (80%) of the Earth’s atmosphere is n___________________________ .

About one fifth (20%) of the Earth’s atmosphere is o___________________________ .

There are also a small amount of other gases, including water vapour and
n_______________ gases such as helium .
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Learning Outcome 8

Plants and algae produced the oxygen that is now in the atmosphere, by a process called
photosynthesis.

Most of the carbon from the carbon dioxide in the early atmosphere gradually became locked up in
rocks as carbonates and fossil fuels.
Complete the sentences by using the words from the box below.
carbon dioxide
green
light energy
organic
oxygen
Plants produce oxygen by a process called photosynthesis.
They use c__________________, water and _________________ to produce ____________ matter.
Photosynthesis can only be carried out by _______________ plants.
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has originally locked up as carbonate rocks
Complete the sentences by using the words from the box below.
carbonate
coal
dioxide
fossil
gas
millions
plant
Most of the carbon from the carbon d__________ that was originally in the atmosphere
m___________ of years ago, gradually became locked up in rocks as carbonates and f___________ fuels.
Oil, c________ and natural g______ are fossil fuels. They were formed from p_________ and animal
remains.
Limestone is a rock that is mainly calcium c__________ .
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Learning Outcome 9

The proportions of different gases in the Earth’s atmosphere are about four-fifths (80%) nitrogen and
about one fifth (20%) oxygen, with small proportions of other gases, including carbon dioxide, water
vapour and noble gases.
Comparison of gases in the early atmosphere with today’s atmosphere
The atmosphere today is very different from the original atmosphere of millions of years ago.
Put a tick () or a cross (x) in the table below to show if the named gas was in the original
atmosphere or is in the atmosphere today.
Name of gas
Original
atmosphere
Atmosphere
today
Ammonia
Carbon dioxide
Water vapour
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Methane
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX
ELC Science Worksheet
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Component 4: Oils, Earth and Atmosphere
Learning Outcome 10

Nowadays, the release of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels increases the level of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere.
Complete the sentences by using the words from the box below.
activities
atmosphere
burnt
carbon
heat
industry
photosynthesis
fuels
greenhouse
risen
warming
Burning fossil f____________ produces tonnes of c______________ dioxide.
This is the most important g_______________ gas emitted by human a____________________ .
This creates a greenhouse effect that causes more h__________ to become trapped.
Due to this, global w________________ increases and the climate’s balance is disturbed.
Large amounts of fossil fuels are b__________________ to meet the demands of energy for
i_______________________ and for transport.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide for p__________________. When they are cut down and destroyed, less
carbon dioxide is used and more is released back into the a_____________ when the cut trees are burnt.
From 1800-2005, c____________________ dioxide has _________________ from 280 to 380 parts per
million by volume.
Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 3644723). Registered
address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX