Chapter 1 - Lesson 4

Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

Chapter 1.4
Natural Resources
Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources pg 42

• All natural resources can be described as either renewable or

nonrenewable

Renewable resource – a resource that can be made again by nature or by

people in a practical amount of time

Nonrenewable resource – a resource that takes too long to replace or

cannot be replaced at all
 Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources pg 42

• Renewable resources Nonrenewable resources

Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources pg 43
Scarce – hard to find

• Sometimes renewable resources become scarce when they are overused by

humans
• Fresh water replaces itself through the water cycle, but if humans use too much
fresh water before it can be renewed through the water cycle, then it will
become scarce
• Trees can also suffer from overuse and become scarce if they are not replanted
after being cut down or clear-cut
Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources pg 43

Conservation – the act of keep something from being lost or wasted

• When we conserve our resources we are making sure that we only use
them for reasons of necessity
• Examples: planting new trees to replace the ones that were cut down,
using less water to allow the water cycle to recover
Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources pg 43

Recycling – a process designed to recover and reuse materials instead of

throwing them away

•Recycling examples:
Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources pg 43

• Cool Items made from

• recycled materials:
• Why is it important to use natural resources
wisely?
(pg.43)
Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources pg 44-45
• The best way to make our natural resources last as long as we
need them is to try and find alternate resources that are
underutilized
• Solar, Wind, and Water are all examples of underutilized resources
• We can use these natural resources to create electricity and we
can stop using the fossil fuels and natural gases to conserve them
• How are the Sun, the wind, and the tides used
as an energy source?
(pg.44)
 Terms to Know
• mineral natural resource .
• Fertile soil fossil fuel .
• Nonrenewable resource .
• Renewable resource .
• conservation .
• Recycling biological resource
• scarce .
• How do groups that lack natural resources meet their needs?
(pg. 45)