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Lesson 4 of 18
  • Year 10

Life cycle assessment of flat pack furniture

I can conduct a life cycle assessment of a product.

Lesson 4 of 18
New
New
  • Year 10

Life cycle assessment of flat pack furniture

I can conduct a life cycle assessment of a product.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Responsible design considers the environmental impact from design to disposal.
  2. A product life cycle is the stages from its introduction to the market until its decline or discontinuation.
  3. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is where the environmental impact is assessed at all stages of the product’s life cycle.

Keywords

  • Sustainability - using resources wisely so future generations can also meet their needs

  • Responsible design - creating products that are sustainable, ethical, and user-friendly

  • LCA - life cycle assessment; assesses the environmental impact at every stage of a product’s lifecycle

Common misconception

The life cycle in product design ends once the product is sold to the consumer.

The product life cycle includes stages beyond purchase such as: use, maintenance, and disposal or recycling. Sustainable design considers the entire life cycle to minimise environmental impact.


To help you plan your year 10 design and technology lesson on: Life cycle assessment of flat pack furniture, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

The same products from the product disassembly lesson can be used here for the students to work from. If this is not possible, a product from online could be used if prefered.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Flatpack furniture products.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
are components that are produced in a set size for a range of uses.

Correct Answer: standardised components, standard components

Q2.
What standardised components is shown in the picture?

An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: cam lock, camlock

Q3.
What material category would the standardised component shown in the picture be used with?

An image in a quiz
papers and boards
textiles
Correct answer: metals

Q4.
Why is the ability to mass produce standardised components beneficial?

it makes each component more expensive to produce
it slows down the manufacturing process
Correct answer: it keeps the cost of manufacturing lower

Q5.
Flat pack furniture is?

Correct answer: furniture that comes in pieces for easy transport and is assembled at home
furniture made only from recycled materials
furniture that is fully assembled and delivered as one piece

Q6.
What is there less of with flat pack pack furniture that makes it have a lower environmental impact?

timber
Correct answer: packaging
standardised components

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
What is the circular product life cycle also called?

Correct answer: cradle to cradle
cradle to grave
cradle to waste

Q2.
What is it called when people use resources wisely so future generations can also meet their needs?

Correct Answer: sustainability, sustainable

Q3.
Put these parts of the product life cycle in the correct order.

1 - raw materials
2 - design/redesign
3 - manufacture and materials processing
4 - distribution
5 - product in use
6 - repair and maintenence
7 - recycling/waste

Q4.
Why do designers carry out life cycle assessments?

Correct answer: to evaluate and minimise the environmental impact of a product at every stage
to focus solely on reducing production costs, regardless of environmental impact
to make products more complex and difficult to manufacture