Name

Class

CHAPTER 5

Date

Energy Resources

SECTION

1 Natural Resources
National Science
Education Standards

BEFORE YOU READ

After you read this section, you should be able to answer
these questions:

ES 3d

What is the difference between a renewable resource

and a nonrenewable resource?

How can you protect natural resources?

What Are Earths Resources?

Earth provides what you need to survive. You breathe
air from Earths atmosphere. You drink water from
Earths rivers, lakes, and other water bodies. You eat food
from Earths living things.
A natural resource is any material from Earth that is
used by people. Air, soil, fresh water, petroleum, rocks,
minerals, forests, and wildlife are examples of natural
resources. People use some natural resources, such as
coal and wind, for energy. The energy in these resources
comes from energy from the sun. The figure below shows
some examples of natural resources.
Examples of Natural Resources

Gasoline and plastic

are both made from
oil that is pumped out
of Earths crust.
This pile of lumber
is made of wood,
which comes from
trees.

STUDY TIP
Summarize After you read
this section, make a chart
giving the denitions of
renewable and nonrenewable resources. In the chart,
include two examples of
each kind of resource.

READING CHECK
1. Dene In your own
words, write a denition of
natural resource.

These windmills produce

electricity from the energy
in wind. The energy in wind
comes mainly from the sun.

TAKE A LOOK

2. Identify Give two examples

of natural resources that are
not shown in the gure.

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Energy Resources

Name
SECTION 1

Class

Date

Natural Resources continued

What Types of Resources Exist on Earth?

Natural resources are grouped based on how fast they
can be replaced. Some natural resources are nonrenewable. Others are renewable.
NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES

READING CHECK
3. Dene What is a
nonrenewable resource?

Some resources, such as coal, petroleum, and natural

gas, take millions of years to form. A nonrenewable
resource is a resource that is used much faster than it
can be replaced. Renew means to begin again. When
nonrenewable resources are used up, people can no longer use them.
RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Some natural resources, such as trees and fresh water,

can grow or be replaced quickly. A renewable resource
is a natural resource that can be replaced as quickly as
people use it.
Many renewable resources are renewable only if
people do not use them too quickly. For example, wood
is usually considered a renewable resource. However,
if people cut down trees faster than the trees can grow
back, wood is no longer a renewable resource. Some
renewable resources, such as the sun, will never be used
up, no matter how fast people use them.

TAKE A LOOK

4. Explain Describe how

some renewable resources
can become nonrenewable
resources.

Fresh water and trees are both renewable resources. However, they can be used up
if people use them too quickly.
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Energy Resources

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SECTION 1

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Natural Resources continued

How Can We Protect Natural Resources?

Whether the natural resources you use are renewable or
nonrenewable, you should be careful how you use them.
In order to conserve natural resources, you should try to
use them only when you have to. For example, leaving the
water running while you are brushing your teeth wastes
clean water. Turning the water off while you brush your
teeth saves water so that it can be used in the future.
The energy we use to heat our homes, drive our cars,
and run our computers comes from natural resources.
Most of these resources are nonrenewable. If we use
too much energy now, we might use up these resources.
Therefore, reducing the amount of energy you use can
help to conserve natural resources. You can conserve
energy by being careful to use it only when you need to.
The table shows some ways you can conserve energy.
Instead of

You can

leaving the lights on all the time

turn them off when youre not in

the room

running the washing machine

when it is only half full

run it only when it is full

using a car to travel everywhere

walk, ride a bike, or use public

transportation when you can

Critical Thinking
5. Explain Why is it important
to conserve all natural
resources, even if they are
renewable resources?

TAKE A LOOK

6. Brainstorm Fill in the

blank spaces in the table with
some other ways you can
conserve natural resources.

Recycling is another important way that you can help to

conserve natural resources. Recycling means using things
that have been thrown away to make new objects. Objects
made from recycled materials use fewer natural resources
than objects made from new materials. Recycling also
helps to conserve energy. For example, it takes less energy
to recycle an aluminum can than to make a new one.
Newspaper, aluminum cans, some plastic containers,
and many types of paper can be recycled. Check with
your communitys recycling center to see what kinds of
materials you can recycle.
Conserving resources also means taking care of them
even when you are not using them. For example, it is
important to keep our drinking water clean. Polluted
water can harm the living things, including humans, that
need water in order to live.

READING CHECK
7. Identify How does
recycling conserve natural
resources?

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Energy Resources

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Section 1 Review

NSES

ES 3d

SECTION VOCABULARY
natural resource any natural material that is
used by humans, such as water, petroleum,
minerals, forests, and animals
nonrenewable resource a resource that forms
at a rate that is much slower than the rate at
which the resource is consumed

recycling the process of recovering valuable or

useful materials from waste or scrap
renewable resource a natural resource that
can be replaced at the same rate at which the
resource is consumed

1. Identify What is the difference between a renewable resource and a

nonrenewable resource?

2. List Give four ways to conserve natural resources.

3. Explain Why is wood usually considered a renewable resource? When would it be

considered a nonrenewable resource?

4. Describe What does it mean to conserve natural resources?

5. Explain Why are coal, oil, and natural gas considered nonrenewable resources,

even though they come from living things that can reproduce?

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Energy Resources

Earth Science Answer Key continued

3. An index mineral is a mineral that forms

3. In most cases, wood can be replaced at the

only at certain temperatures and pressures.

Chlorite, muscovite, and garnet are index
minerals for metamorphic rocks.
4. Because index minerals form only at certain
temperatures and pressures, they can be
used to estimate the temperature and pressure or depth at which a rock forms.
5. Quartzite is a metamorphic rock. It forms
when quartz sandstone is exposed to heat
and pressure. The quartz crystals grow
larger during metamorphism.
6. The rock with garnet probably formed at a
greater depth, because garnet is an index
mineral for greater depths than chlorite.

rate at which it is consumed. If people

use it faster than it can grow back, it is a
nonrenewable resource.
4. Conserving resources means using only
what you need and protecting resources,
even when you are not using them.
5. They take millions of years to form.

SECTION 2 FOSSIL FUELS

1.
2.
3.
4.

from fossil fuels

mostly in Texas and Oklahoma
heating
Tiny sea creatures die and are buried in
sediment. Over time, their remains become
natural gas.
5. Petroleum occurs naturally as a liquid.
6.
7%

Chapter 5 Energy
Resources
SECTION 1 NATURAL RESOURCES

12%

1. any natural material that people use to fulfill

2.
3.
4.

5.

6.

Middle East

their needs
Possible answers: water, air, coal, metal
a resource that cannot be replaced as fast as
it is used
Many renewable resources are renewable
only if people do not use them too quickly. If
they are used too quickly, they become nonrenewable resources.
Possible answer: Nonrenewable resources
should be conserved so that we dont use them
up. Renewable resources should be conserved
so that they have time to regenerate.
Instead of...

You can...

...keeping your home very

warm in the winter and
very cool in the summer,

...use less heat and air

conditioning.

...taking long, hot

showers,

...take shorter showers

and use less hot water.

North and South America

15%

Africa
Europe and Asia

66%

7. lignite, bituminous coal, and anthracite

8. anthracite
9. Fossil fuels are fairly cheap and are very

compact sources of energy. We now rely on

fossil fuels.
10. rain, sleet, snow that contains a lot of acid
Review
1. Petroleum exists as a liquid in its natural state.

Natural gas exists as a gas in its natural state.

2.

7. Fewer natural resources and less energy are

needed to make recycled objects than to

make new objects.
Review
1. A renewable resource can be replaced as

fast as it is consumed. A nonrenewable

resource cannot.
2. Turn off the water when you brush your
teeth. Wash only full loads of laundry. Turn
the lights out when you leave a room. Use
both sides of a piece of paper.

Kind of fossil
fuel

What it is

How it forms

Coal

a solid fuel
made from plant
matter

Partly
decomposed
plant matter is
put under heat
and pressure.

Natural Gas

a mixture of
gases containing
carbon,
hydrogen, and
oxygen

Tiny sea
creatures die
and are buried
in sediment.

Petroleum

a mixture of
liquids containing
carbon,
hydrogen, and
oxygen

Tiny sea
creatures die
and are buried
in sediment.

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Earth Science