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Study Guide: Earth Science
What are Earth’s resources?
Vocabulary:
• Natural resources – substances that exist naturally on Earth and are not
made by humans
• Renewable resources – resources that can be replaced at the same rate
at which they are used
• Non-renewable resources – resources that are used faster than they can
be replaced
• Fossil fuels – non-renewable resources that formed from the remains of
plants and animals that died millions of years ago (ex. Coal, natural gas,
petroleum)
• Recycling – processing materials again to make new products
• Reusing – using materials or products again
• Reducing – using less of a material for a certain purpose
• Conservation – the practice of using resources wisely
• Depletion – use up the supply of something
• Indefinite – lasting an unknown length of time, an unknown amount of
something
• Limited – restricted in amount
• Maintained – keep at the same level or rate
Key Concepts:
• Non-renewable resources are limited and need to be used wisely
• Non-renewable resources can be conserved through reducing, reusing
and recycling
• Earth’s renewable resources can be maintained.
Specific Knowledge:
• What are non-renewable resources and how can they be conserved?
o Natural resources are supplies from nature that are useful or
necessary for our lives
o Non-renewable resources are resources that cannot be replaced
with a human lifetime
o Examples: fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas), soil, minerals
o Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of plants and animals
o It takes millions of years for these organisms to chemically change
into fossil fuels
o Non-renewable resources can be conserved by reducing the
amount of use, reusing resources, and recycling (the 3 R’s)
o Non-renewable resources can be conserved by using alternative
resources
•
What are renewable resources and how can they be maintained?
o Renewable resources are resources that can be replaced as fast as
they are used.
o Examples: water, air, wildlife, most plants, sunlight
o Renewable resources can be maintained by protecting the
environment (not polluting, reforestation, the 3 R’s)
•
What are the positives and negatives of using non-renewable resources?
o Positives:
 Humans benefit from many products from fossil fuels (ex.
plastics, gasoline, paints)
o Negatives:
 Non-renewable resources can create pollution and damage
ecosystems
 Non-renewable resources cannot be replaced as quickly as
they are used.
 Non-renewable resources cannot re replaced within a
human lifetime.
•
What are the positives and negative of using renewable resources?
o Positives:
 Renewable resources can be replaced in a human lifetime.
 Renewable resources can be conserved by using alternative
resources.
o Negatives:
 Some resources, like fresh water, trees and wildlife only remain
renewable if we use them wisely; otherwise we are in danger
of limiting their supply.
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Most Helpful:
• Natural resources
• Fossil fuels
• Recycling
• Humans and the environment
Also Related to What We’ve Been Learning:
• Air pollution
• Water pollution
• Solar Energy
• Wind Energy
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Biofuel
Nuclear Energy
Dams