What's a Smartphone Made Of?
Articles/Websites
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Social Studies, Chemistry, Earth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by TED-Ed
What it is
- This animated video explains the prevalence of smartphones and that the process of making them has many environmental costs.
- Students will learn about the chemical elements that are used to make smartphones, the risks associated with mining these elements, the side effects of throwing these items away instead of recycling e-waste, and other impacts of smartphone production that promote climate change and habitat destruction.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The text and visual aids in the video help reinforce important concepts.
- This resource touches on a topic that is relatable to many students and explores a wide range of smartphone implications, from the extraction of elements to justice issues surrounding e-waste.
Additional Prerequisites
- For students who are less familiar with metric measurements, teachers might do a quick conversion from kilograms to pounds to help students conceptualize the amount of precious metals used in smartphones.
- Students must create a free account in order to use the interactive features of the site.
Differentiation
- Because there are many important terms in the video, teachers could ask students to use a graphic organizer while they watch the video to take notes on specific vocabulary meanings such as precious metals, rare-earth elements, and open pit mining.
- Before watching the video, teachers could ask students to reflect on their own associations with smartphones and what hidden costs they predict might be correlated with smartphones.
- Other resources on this topic include this article about the impacts of cryptocurrency on the climate and this video that discusses the link between the Internet and energy usage.
From the scientist review
The products we buy often have hidden environmental costs that we do not think about. One such product is a smartphone, which requires rare-earth elements and precious metals (that are often mined and cause pollution) to function. Please note that multiple sources say that as of 2021 there are over 6 billion smartphone users in the world. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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