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Natural Resource Distribution

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- Natural resources are things people use from nature like fossil fuels, water and minerals.
- Earth's natural resources are unevenly distributed across the globe.
- This can be explained by geological process like the movement of tectonic plates, erosion and volcanic activity.
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Discussion Questions
- Before VideoWhat are natural resources?ANSWER
Natural resources are things we use from nature like wood, water, minerals, and fossil fuels.
Solar panels capture and convert sunlight to electricity; wind turbines convert motion energy of wind to electricity; humans use fossil fuels for heat, transportation, and industry; wood is used for building and for paper; etc.
It depends on the natural resource; groundwater is stored in some types of rock layers but not others; coal is found only in areas where swamp environments once existed; oil and gas can be found in rock layers associated with ancient ocean environments; and precious minerals form near continental plate boundaries.
Some minerals are mined; they form underground. Minerals like gold are found in streams like the gold found in California.
Water, wind, and sunlight are considered renewable.
Wood and fossil fuels.
- After VideoGive some examples of how we use natural resources.ANSWER
Fuel for cars, heating our homes, and industry; wood for building; sunlight and wind to generate electricity.
Some natural resources like sunlight and wind are found everywhere, but other natural resources are unevenly distributed. Resources like oil, coal, and natural gas are only found where conditions were favorable to grow and preserve large quantities of animal or plant matter. Forests only grow in certain soils and temperature zones. Some countries have more groundwater than other countries.
Conservation biologists study the affect humans have on the environment to make sure humans are not hurting the ecosystem when they take natural resources. These scientists make sure when people are mining for coal or drilling for oil they are disturbing the environment as little as possible.
Metal ores are found near plate boundaries; magma that forms due to subduction can heat water in the ground. Hot water can dissolve minerals from one place and then carry and deposit them somewhere else, usually in fractures in rock. Some people use water heated by magma to heat homes and to generate electricity.
Fossil fuels like gas and oil are formed from animal and plant matter deeply buried by sediments. The animal and plant matter decays and over millions of years form oil and gas; if conditions are right, the oil and gas remain trapped below Earth’s surface. Coal forms from thick deposits of plant matter that accumulated in swampy areas. The decaying plants are under pressure from the thick layers of sediments that buried them; over time the plant matter forms coal.
Running water, like what can be found in a river, can be used to generate electricity; humans have built hydroelectric dams to harness the energy of running water. Freshwater stored as groundwater can be called a non-renewable resource because it is being used faster for drinking water and irrigation than it can be recharged.
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Vocabulary
- Natural resources DEFINE
Are things humans use that occur naturally in nature.
- Renewable resources DEFINE
Are things like the Sun, wind, and water that can be used indefinitely to provide humans with something they need.
- Non-renewable resources DEFINE
Are things that will eventually run out that cannot be replaced within a person’s lifetime, like fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas) and fresh water.
- Geologic processes DEFINE
Earth’s naturally occurring movements like plate tectonics, weathering, and erosion.
- Gold DEFINE
Is a metal that is considered rare (not easily found). This natural resource along with platinum, silver, and some others are referred to as precious metals.
- Fossil fuels DEFINE
Are deposits of substances many people use for energy. Oil, coal, and natural gas deposits are found underground in some parts of the world and were formed from decomposing organic matter.
- Soil DEFINE
Is a natural resource made from Earth’s natural processes of weathering and erosion. Some soil contains minerals that make it good for farming and growing crops. This kind of soil is referred to as fertile soil, but fertile soil is not found everywhere.
- Freshwater DEFINE
Is a natural resource that makes up less than 3% of the water found on Earth and is found in glaciers, some lakes, rivers, and underground in aquifers. Freshwater is used for drinking and watering crops and is not stored everywhere on Earth. Precipitation is also freshwater; however, it can sometimes be contaminated with chemicals from the atmosphere.
- Conservation biologist DEFINE
A scientist that studies human activities such as mining or logging to record the affects these activities have on the other living things in those environments.
- Environmental Policy Analyst DEFINE
Is a scientist that works with lawmakers to make sure environments are protected and not destroyed by human actions.
- Natural resources DEFINE
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