Science Lesson #1 g7

• The location of our country is related to its natural resources like abundant water, fertile soil, diverse plants and animals, precious metal deposits and geothermal power. To conserve natural resources is to protect or use them wisely without wasting them or up completely. Conserving natural resources can make them last and available for future generations. Each one of us should think about how to make things sustainable. The lives of the future generations depend on how we use natural resources.
• Natural Resources are materials that occur naturally on earth such as air, land, water, minerals, forests, wildlife, etc.
• Non-renewable Natural Resources are those which cannot be replaced once they have been used up. These include fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas), metals, rocks, sand, gravel, etc.
• Renewable Natural Resources are those which replenish themselves over time. They include sunlight, wind, rainfall, rivers, oceans, trees, crops, grasses, fish, birds, insects, etc.
• Conservation means protecting nature from harm so it will continue to exist for people now and in the future
• Sustainability means using natural resources at a rate where they can keep providing what we need now and into the future
• Waste Management involves collecting, transporting, treating and disposing of waste products properly
• Sustainability means using natural resources at a rate where they can be renewed faster than they are being used up
• Recycling is reusing something again instead of throwing it away
• Reduce - use less of something by changing how much you buy, use or throw away
• Reuse - find another way to use an item instead of throwing it out
• The three R's of sustainability are Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Reducing is about making less waste by buying only what you really need or reusing things instead of throwing them away
• Repair - fix something that's broken rather than replacing it with a new one
• Energy Conservation - saving energy by turning off lights when not needed, unplugging electronics when not in use, etc.
• Renewable energy sources include solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity, geothermal heat, tidal power, wave power, biomass, biofuels, and biogas.
• A landfill is a large area of ground where rubbish is buried under layers of soil
• Reusable items can be used many times without being thrown away
• Biodiversity


  The variety of life forms in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem
• Chemical Weathering


  Breaks down rocks by changing its chemical composition
• Conserve


  To preserve, or to avoid wasteful use
• Coordinates


  Numbers measured with respect to a system of lines or some other fixed reference
• Coordinate system


  A system that uses numbers, or coordinates, to determine the position of points or other geometric elements
• Equator


  The imaginary line circling the Earth halfway between north and south poles
• Erosion


  The movement of weathered material downslope under the influence of gravity
• Latitude

  Imaginary lines that measure the distance in degrees north or south of the equator
• Longitude


  Imaginary lines that measure the distance in degrees east or west of the prime meridian
• Mineral


  A naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having an orderly internal structure and characteristic chemical composition, crystal form, and physical properties
• Natural resources


  Materials created in nature that are used and usable by humans
• Non-renewable resources


  Natural resources that cannot be replaced after they are used, such as oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy
• Parallels

  The circles formed by latitude lines
• Physical Weathering


  The process of breaking down rocks, minerals, and soils without changing their chemical composition
• Prime meridian


  A north-south line that serves as the reference line for longitude, which is considered 0 degrees longitude
• Renewable resource


  A resource that can be replenished naturally over time
• Rocks


  Consolidated mixtures of minerals
• Sustainable


  To be used without being completely used up or destroyed
• Sustainability


  The ability to keep in existence or maintain
• Vegetation


  All ground covered by plants
• Watershed


  An area of land that drains all the streams and rainfall to a common outlet such as the outflow of a reservoir, mouth of a bay, or any point along a stream channel
• Weathering


  The breaking down of rocks into smaller pieces by natural processes