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Exploring the raw materials provided by the Earth that are used to create products.
Imagine you are stranded on a deserted island with no stores or factories. How would you build a shelter or find a drink? Everything you would need is already there, provided by the Earth itself!
A natural resource is something found in nature that people use to survive or make things. Think of them as 'Gifts from Nature.' These materials are not made by humans; they are discovered on our planet. We find them in the ground, in the water, and even in the air. Because we have Earth, these resources are the starting point for every single product you own. Without them, we wouldn't have houses, clothes, or even the food we eat! There are main categories we look at: biological (like trees), mineral (like rocks), and water.
Let's look at how a simple tree becomes a resource for your classroom: 1. A tree grows in a forest (Natural Resource). 2. Loggers cut the tree into or large logs. 3. The logs are sent to a mill to be sliced into flat boards. 4. A carpenter uses those boards to build the wooden desk you sit at today!
Quick Check
In your own words, what makes something a 'natural' resource?
Answer
It is a material that comes directly from nature and is not made by humans.
Most things around you come from three main sources. Wood comes from trees and is used for paper and furniture. Water comes from lakes and rivers; we use it for drinking, cleaning, and even creating electricity. Minerals are substances like iron, gold, or graphite (the 'lead' in your pencil) that are dug out of the ground. Every time you use a -cent coin or drink a glass of water, you are using a natural resource that the Earth provided over thousands of years.
A pencil actually uses different natural resources at once: 1. Wood: The outer shell comes from cedar trees. 2. Graphite: This is a mineral mined from the earth for the center. 3. Assembly: A factory combines the piece of graphite with the wood to make your writing tool.
Quick Check
Which natural resource is used to make both a school bus and a metal spoon?
Answer
Minerals (specifically metals like iron or steel).
The journey from nature to your home is called processing. A resource in its natural state is called a raw material. To turn a raw material into a product, humans must use tools and energy. For example, sand is a natural resource. When you heat sand to over degrees Fahrenheit, it melts and turns into glass! This is why natural resources are so important for our economy—they are the ingredients for everything we buy and sell.
How does a rock become a soda can? Follow these steps: 1. Miners dig up a rock called Bauxite (the raw mineral resource). 2. The rock is crushed and heated in a giant furnace at degrees. 3. The liquid metal (aluminum) is poured into sheets. 4. Machines stamp the sheets into the shape of a can. 5. You buy the can, use it, and hopefully recycle it so the resource can be used again!
Which of these is the best definition of a natural resource?
If you are holding a metal fork, which natural resource was used to make it?
Sand is a natural resource used to make glass windows.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, look at your breakfast table. Can you name the natural resource used to make your chair, your spoon, and your glass of juice?
Practice Activity
Resource Detective: Find 5 items in your bedroom and try to guess if they started as wood, water, or a mineral!