Question | Answer |
Natural resource | materials on earth that are available for our use |
Renewable resource | can be replaced |
Nonrenewable resource | cannot be replaced easily |
Fossil fuel | formed from the remains of plants and animals buried quickly |
Petroleum | |
Crude oil | petroleum |
Refinery | factory that separates crude oil into different products |
Petrochemicals | chemicals produced from oil |
Natural gas | fossil fuel found in a gaseous state |
Coal | formed from plant material quickly buried in sediment |
Uranium | mineral used to produce nuclear energy |
Reservoir | holding area for water |
Hydroelectric energy | produced as water flows and turns turbines |
Geothermal energy | uses heat from the earth to produce steam |
Wind energy | electrical energy from air movement |
Solar energy | energy from sun |
Mineral | solid substance found naturally in the earth’s surface (salt, sand, iron, gold) |
Vein | concentrated areas of specific minerals |
Ore | materials in a vein which contain usable amounts of metal |
Smelting | process used to separate metal from ore |
Malleable | soft and shapeable metal |
Fallow | letting fields rest for a time |
Ground cover | low growing crop planted on unused fields |
Contour plowing | method used by farmers to reduce erosion |
Hydrosphere | all of earth’s water (lakes, oceans, streams, rivers, underground water) |
Water cycle | path the water travels as in goes from land to sky and back |
Saline | salty |
Phytoplankton | small plants that make up the first link in the ocean’s food chain |
Ground water | rain water stored beneath the surface of the ground |
Aquifer | layers of sand, gravel or bedrock that hold and move groundwater |
Drawdown | lowered well water level caused by increased water usage |
Humidity | amount of water vapor in the air |
Ice sheet | layer of ice over the land (a glacier over flat land) |
Ice shelf | ice layer that has moved from land out into the ocean and is floating in the water |
Iceberg | piece of ice that breaks off from an ice shelf |
Sea ice | frozen ocean water |
Reduce | preserving our resources by limiting the amount you use |
Reuse | preserve our resources by finding ways to use materials again, be creative |
Recycle | conserve resources by taking products to a recycling center where they will be remade into other products |