Natural Resources

Question 1 What are natural resources?

Question 2 What is a resource?

Question 3 What are inexhaustible natural resources?Give example?

Question 4 What are exhaustible natural resources ?Give example?

Question 5 What are fossil fuels?

Question 6 Why fossil fuels are exhaustible resources?

Question 7 Describe how,fossil fuels are formed?

Question 8 Give few examples of fossil fuels?

Natural resources

Air,water,soil,coal,petroleum,natural gas and minerals are obtained from nature,so they are called natural resources.

Plastics,synthetic fibres,paints,drugs,explosive are all man-made materials.

Anything in the environment which can be used is called as resource.

All the natural resources can be classified into 2 groups:

1)Inexhaustible natural resources

2)Exhaustible natural resources

Those natural resources which are present in unlimited quantity in nature and are not likely to be exhausted by human activities are called inexhaustible resources.

They can be used again and again.

For Ex:Sunlight,air,water

Those natural resources which are present in limited quantity in nature and are not likely to be exhausted by human activities are called exhaustible resources.

The exhaustible natural resources do not last forever.

For Ex:Coal,petroleum,natural gas,minerals,forests etc.

Fossils are the remains of the pre-historic plants or animals buried under the earth millions of years ago.

The natural fuels formed from the remains of living organism buried under the earth long,long ago are called fossil fuels.

Coal,petroleum,natural gas are fossil fuels because they were formed by the decomposition of the remains of pre-historic plants and animals buried under the earth long,long ago.

Formation of fossil fuels

Fossil fuels were formed from the dead remains of living organism buried under the earth millions of year ago.The plants and animals which died millions of year ago,were gradually buried deep in the earth and got covered with sediments like mud and sand,away from the reach of air.In the absence of air,the chemical effects of heat,pressure and bacteria,converted the buried remains of plants and animals into fossil fuels like coal,petroleum and natural gas.The buried remains of large remains of large plants were converted into coal whereas those of tiny marine plants and animals were converted into petroleum and natural gas.