3rd Class Science Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This lesson will help you to:-

• know about resources
• identify and understand renewable resources
• identify and understand non-renewable resources
• learn how we can save resources

QUICK CONCEPT REVIEW

You already know about living things and their needs. You also know that in order to survive, living things need food, water and air. We need different things in our daily life, which are made up of different materials, for example we breathe in air, we cook food with the help of water, grains, cereals, spices, vegetables and LPG (fuel).

Resource is defined as a substance or object required by a living organism for normal growth and main tainence.

All the things which we use are categorized as Renewable and Non-renewable Resources.

WHAT ARE RENEWABLE RESOURCES?

The resources which have the ability to renew themselves are called renewable resources. That means they will be always available to us as they keep on generating. They can never get used up. Let us discuss them one by one and see how we use them.

WATER

We all need water to survive. Apart from drinking water we use water in many activities like farming, cleaning and cooking food etc. We cannot survive without water. Even plants and animals also need water to survive.

Sources of water are lakes, wells and rivers etc. and most importantly rain.

We can get water resource from

We should not waste water. It is very valuable for all the living things. While using water we should keep following things in mind:  

• Always turn off the tap when not in use.
• Never throw away water.
• Repair a leaking tap or a leaking pipe.

As the population is increasing we need more water and we need to conserve it. Like other renewable resources we have it in plenty but we will have to control the wastage so that in coming years we can meet with our need of water.

With more industrialization we are contaminating our water resources by throwing waste chemicals in them. Washing of clothes and bathing of animals in pond should also be stopped to keep the water resources clean.

SOIL:

Soil or earth is also a renewable resource. We live on it. It supports the trees and gives us shelter. Below earth's surface there are sources of water. The land also provides us with minerals like copper and iron etc. We should try not to pollute the soil which is caused by industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals and improper disposal of wastes.

Did you know?

• Only 3% of water available on earth is fresh water.
• Rest 97% is salt water. Out of this 3%, only 0.9% water is surface water which is readily available for drinking purposes

AIR

Air is present all around us. It is a mixture of many gases. We breathe in air.

How do we know that there is air around us?

When the air blows leaves move and kites also fly in air.

It is because of wind only by which the boat sails. Moving air is called breeze or wind.

Moving air is also used to generate electricity using wind mills.

The wind is a renewable resource which we are polluting by smoke from factory chimneys and vehicles. To prevent this we should keep a check on smoke produced due to different activities. A lot of people fall ill due to gases and smoke mixed in air.

SOLAR ENERGY

The energy or power which we get from sun is called solar energy. This is a renewable resource as we can keep on getting this energy for millions and millions of years. This energy has many uses.

• Plants use this energy to prepare their food.
• There are many devices which use solar energy.
• Solar cookers use solar energy to cook food.
• Solar power panels store solar energy for different purposes.
• Solar water heaters also heat the water using solar energy.

All the renewable resources are very useful for us. But we should use them with care as they also need time to regenerate.

FORESTS

Forests are very important source of plants and plant products. They are home to a vast variety of plants and animals. They attract rain and prevent floods. They conserve soil by replenishing the minerals and give oxygen to the atmosphere. They are renewable natural resources.

NON RENEWABLE RESOURCES

The second type of resources are nonrenewable resources.

Nonrenewable resources are the resources which cannot be reproduced or grown and are in a limited amount. If we want to keep on using them we have to use them very carefully.

The resources which have taken a lot of years to produce such as fossil fuels (coal/petroleum and natural gas) are nonrenewable resources. They were formed when the trees got buried under the earth millions of years ago. They took many years to become fossil fuels.

Coal is an important non-renewable resource.

These resources are limited in quantity and with continuous use they can get finished in some years. They will not be readily available that time as they need million and millions of years to form. So it is very important to use them very wisely otherwise there will be no way to get them as they cannot be produced by man..

RECAPITULATION:

• We get plenty of things from nature which are very useful for us.
• These things are called natural resources.
• The natural resources can be categorized in two parts.
• First are renewable resources and the other are non-renewable resources.

• The energy from renewable resources is known as green energy.
• Renewable resources are those which we have in plenty and are not limited. Like air, water, soil, animals, solar energy and plants.
• All the natural resources are available to us now in plenty but if we want to continue using them we should use them properly and according to need only.
• With increase in population there is increase in waste products which is polluting our natural resources.
• We should keep a check on the activities which are polluting these valuable resources.
• Non-renewable resources are those which cannot be reproduced like coal, petroleum and natural gas.
• These resources were formed from the remains of dead plants and animals which got buried under the earth millions of years ago.
• So it takes a lot of time by nature to produce them.
• They are available in limited quantity and can be available in coming times only if we use them wisely.
• With increase in population our need for natural resources is increasing but the supply does not increase with same speed. That is why it is advised that we should use the natural resources wisely and according to need so that nature also gets time to reproduce them. Otherwise we shall fall short of them in near future.

Amazing Facts

• Water covers about 70% of the earth’s surface.
• The three largest oceans are pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean.