NATURAL RESOURCES Materials

Natural resources are natural assets (raw materials) occurring in

nature that can be used for economic production or

consumption.

NATURAL RESOURCES… Human centric

Earth’s naturally occurring assets that provide us benefits through the provision of raw materials and energy used in economic activity (or that may provide such benefits one day) and that are subject primarily to quantitative depletion through human use.

In other words, they will be used by humans for economic gain and we may one day run out.

Categories of Natural Resources

Mineral and Energy Resources Soil Resources Water Resources Biological Resources

Natural Resources Things people and other organisms

obtain from the living and nonliving environment.

Resources provide for the needs and wants of a population (group of the same kind of organism).

All plants and animals depend on the resources in their environments to live, grow and reproduce.

Mineral Resources ???????

Brainstorm mineral and use.

Minerals & Rocks

Minerals & Rocks

Minerals & Rocks

Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison CO

Energy Resources?????????

Brainstorm energy resources – Renewable or Nonrenewable???

Nonrenewable Energy Resources

.

Renewable Energy Resources

Soil Resources???????????

Brainstorm – what’s up with this?

Food for thought…

What regions have good soils?

Water Resources????????????

Brainstorm water sources and whether they are potable. (What is potable?)

Water as a Natural Resource… 97% of water on Earth is saline. 2.4% of water on Earth is in glaciers. 0.45% of water on Earth is in the ground

(groundwater) 0.15% of water of Earth is in lakes and

streams At any given time, 0.003% of the 0.60% of

groundwater and water and lakes & streams is potable – fit for human usage

This is literally a “drop in the bucket”

The Great Lakes hold 20% of available fresh water on Earth

Biological Resources???????

Brainstorm

Biological Resources Quality of plants will be limited by

available water and the quality of soil. If handled wisely, largely renewable. Cutting edge technologies are

stemming from the use of many plants, however, many unforeseen problems are also arising.

Biological Resources

Transformation of Natural Resources

People use some resources without much modification Air for breathing Fresh fruits and vegetables Some spring water for

drinking

Transformation of Natural Resources

People transform other resources to solve uniquely human problems. Timber & bricks for building Processing of raw foods into cooked &

manufactured foods Processing surface water to make it

clean for drinking Cleaning & weaving of flax, cotton &

hemp for textiles and clothing.

ACTIVITY – MATERIALS I.D. LABManmade or Natural?

Goals: To assess prior knowledge of students. To generate interest in types and properties of

materials. To help students develop their own

definition/description of each material category. Practice classifying and justifying (critical

thinking). Practice reasoning out the origin of the materials

they are categorizing. To help students assess the origin of a material.

Credit to ASM International for lesson plan idea

What do you need to know?

What is a natural resource? What are the 4 main categories of natural resources? What is the purpose of a natural resource? What are some examples of mineral resources? What are some examples of energy resources and are

they renewable? What is the importance of soil as a resource? What are examples of biological resources and some

concerns about them? Give some examples of how some natural resources

(mineral, energy, biological, hydrological) are modified (processed or treated) for our use.

Can you identify manmade vs. natural materials and identify their origin?