Year 10 Science · Unit 2 · Lesson 15
Challenge Worksheet
Learning Goals
Evaluate the claim
Someone claims...
"Without the Haber process, approximately half the world's population would not exist, this makes it the most important chemical reaction in history. Every other chemical discovery pales in comparison: nothing else has saved more lives or fed more people. The Haber process is the single greatest scientific achievement of the twentieth century."
(a) What part of this claim is supported by the chemistry and food science you have learned? Give at least two specific pieces of evidence.
(b) What is misleading or incomplete about this claim? Consider both the science (e.g. environmental costs of fertiliser overuse) and the logic of calling it "the most important".
(c) What evidence or additional information would you need to fairly compare the Haber process against other candidates for "most important chemical reaction in history"? Suggest at least one other contender and justify it.
1. Explain in your own words why the Haber process uses approximately 200 atm pressure rather than either atmospheric pressure or the highest possible pressure.
2. Fertiliser runoff from farms enters waterways and causes algal blooms, a process called eutrophication. Using what you know about the Haber process and its products, explain the chain from fertiliser application to ecosystem damage.
Wrap Up
In one sentence, explain the trade-off that makes the Haber process a compromise rather than an optimal reaction.