Natural resources are things that come from nature that are used by humans. They include plants, animals, air, water, soil, rocks and minerals, fossil fuels like coal, crude oil and natural gas, the sun, and wind. Plants provide food, oxygen, clothing materials like cotton, paper and lumber. Animals provide food and materials like leather. Soil is necessary for growing plants and is used to make glass, concrete, bricks and tiles. Rocks and minerals are used for construction, metals that are essential for infrastructure and manufacturing are derived from minerals found in rocks. Fossil fuels are primarily used for energy but also to make plastics and other materials. The sun and wind are renewable energy resources.

1. Natural
Resources
By Moira Whitehouse PhD

2. Natural resources
a. are made by man in factories
b. come from nature
c. are things than man uses
d. both a and b
e. both b and c

3. •Remember the web we made yesterday in
which we identified the categories (groups) of
natural resources used by man.
•Which categories can you remember?
•Remember one group of resources that we
use for energy has three different types.
•Complete the web on the following page.

6. Why is air (the Earth’s atmosphere) important to us?

7. •Air has oxygen…and we need oxygen to
survive.
•Plants need carbon dioxide to make
their food. The energy stored in plants is
passed through the food chain to us.

8. What important things do we get from
plants?

9. 1. Food
We eat many different kinds of plants or parts of plants.
The main ingredients in
bread, cereals, pasta, cakes, cookie,as wheat, corn, oats
come from plants such etc.
and rice.
wheat corn

10. We also eat many plant parts such as the
fruits and vegetables seen in these pictures.

11. 2. Oxygen--when plants make food they
also put oxygen in the air.

12. 3. Clothes Many of our clothes and towels
and sheets are made from cotton
which comes from a plant..
cotton plant(s)

13. 4. Paper and lumber
Trees (plants) are cut down for lumber and paper.

14. 5. Rubber
Some tires and soles of
athletic shoes are made
from the sap from a
rubber tree.
Sap being collected
from a rubber tree

15. What important things do we get from
animals?

16. 1. Food

17. 2. Leather for our shoes
3. Feathers for our pillows
•And many other things.

18. Why is water important to us?

19. 1. To drink.
Up to 60 % of the
human body is made
up of water.

20. 2. For cleaning
our clothes, our
bodies and our
homes.

21. 3. For
watering our
plants
•And for
many other
things

22. Why is soil important to us?

23. 1. For growing plants
Without soil we could not grow
plants.

24. 2. For making glass…sand, a type of soil, is the main
ingredient in glass.

25. To change sand into glass, it must be melted.
Sand melts at a very high temperatures—
between 2600-2900 degrees F.

26. 3. Sand and clay, two types of soil, are
also important ingredients in concrete.
or cement.

27. Concrete is often used for making large
buildings and sidewalks.

28. 4. Clay is a
type of soil
used to make
bricks and tiles.
Tile made from clay

29. What important ways do we use rocks and
minerals (the substances that make up
rocks)?

30. 1. We use rocks to build
houses, walls, patios, countertops and statues.

31. All made from rock

32. 2. Sheet rock is made from the
mineral, gypsum.
Minerals make up rocks.

34. 3. Metals come from minerals found in
rocks buried deep underground

35. .
Aluminum comes from the
mineral, alumina, Alumina is found in the

36. Copper comes from many different minerals.
Here are two minerals that contain copper.

37. Here are some of the minerals that contain iron.

38. Here is one of the minerals that contain zinc.

39. Metals are very important to man
Do you know some of the things we
use metals for?

40. We use metals for making •cars, trucks, airplanes
many things such as:
•wire, tools, pipes

41. We also use
metals for:
•Roofs
•Frames for
large buildings

42. • bridges

43. Fossil fuels are another important
natural resource.
Can you name the three fossil fuels?

44. natural gas
crude oil or
petroleum
coal

45. And where are they found in nature?

46. Usually underground.
Oil well Natural gas well

47. coal mine

48. What do we use fossil fuels for?

49. 1. We use fossil fuels to power our
cars, trucks, buses, and tractors.

50. Crude oil is a
mixture of
several
substances
that we use
for fuel.

51. 2. We also burn fossil fuels to generate
electricity.
Steam
Often, coal or natural gas is burned to heat
water. The water changes into steam which
turns a turbine which then turns a coil of wire
inside a magnet generating electricity.

52. Large generators produce the electricity we use
in our homes, schools and work places.

53. 3. Crude oil is also used to make many
things that we value.
Do you know what important material is
made from crude oil or petroleum?

54. Yes—plastic. Think of all the things
you know of that are made of
plastic.

55. We also use crude oil to make polyester
clothes including fleece.

57. The Sun is another valuable natural resource.
What two kinds of energy does the Sun give
the Earth?
li
h

58. Yes, the Sun gives us heat and light energy.

59. The Sun’s energy can also be changed into
electrical energy using solar panels.

60. Wind is also an important resource for
us.
Do you remember what causes the wind?

61. Yes wind is caused by the uneven heating
of the Earth by the Sun.

62. Wind can also be used to generate
electricity.

63. So let’s name the common natural resources.
• plants
• animals
• oxygen in air
• water
• soil
• rocks and minerals in rocks
• three fossil fuels—coal, crude oil, natural gas
• sun
• wind