Lagnever AI Hinglish

What are natural resources?

Answer in short

Natural resources are the treasures we get from nature: air, water, energy from the Sun, forests, soil, rocks, minerals and fossil fuels. All living beings depend on them to survive. Things that people make from natural resources to meet their needs, such as electric bulbs, furniture, solar panels and bicycles, are called human-made resources.

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Treasures of nature

At their Ajji’s village in the Western Ghats, Bhoomi and Surya find fresh air, fertile soil, plenty of sunshine, streams, and forests full of plants, birds and animals. Ajji calls these the treasures of nature. We need them for our survival and to make our lives comfortable. The resources we get from nature are called natural resources.

Seven natural resources with their uses, air, water, energy from the Sun, forests, soil, rocks and minerals, and fossil fuels, and human-made resources such as bulbs, furniture, solar panels and bicycles made from them
Natural and human-made resources

Air

Air is a mixture of gases: about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% argon, carbon dioxide and other gases. Our body needs oxygen to work, which is why we cannot hold our breath for long; we cannot survive without oxygen for even a few minutes. Moving air, called wind, turns firkis and windmills. Windmills run flour mills, pull up water and generate electricity. India has many windmill farms, such as the Muppandal Wind Farm in Tamil Nadu, the Jaisalmer Wind Park in Rajasthan and the Brahmanvel Wind Farm in Maharashtra.

Water

We use water for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing, growing crops and in industries. It covers about two-thirds of the Earth’s surface, but most of it is salty sea water. Freshwater is found as ice and snow, in rivers and lakes, and underground, and only a small part of it is easy to reach. That is why water is precious.

Energy from the Sun

The Sun is the main source of energy on Earth. Plants use sunlight to make their food, animals eat plants, and we eat both. We use the Sun’s heat to dry clothes, chillies and grains, and its energy in solar panels, solar cookers and solar water heaters.

Forests

Forests are large areas with a dense growth of herbs, shrubs and trees. They are home to many wild animals, birds and insects, and give us products such as wood, fruits, honey, medicinal plants and gum. Their roots hold the soil, and their fallen leaves enrich it.

Soil, rocks and minerals

Soil, in which plants grow, forms from rocks broken down by the Sun, water and living things over thousands of years. Rocks such as granite, sandstone, marble, slate and laterite are used to build houses, roads and dams, and long ago people made hand axes and arrowheads from stone. Rocks are made of minerals, from which metals like aluminium, gold, copper and iron are extracted. Minerals are used in aeroplanes, cars, jewellery and phones.

Fossil fuels

Coal, petroleum and natural gas are fossil fuels, formed over millions of years from the buried remains of microorganisms and plants. Petrol, diesel and kerosene come from petroleum. We use them to run vehicles, to cook (natural gas and LPG) and to make electricity (coal).

Natural or human-made?

Using natural resources, people make many useful things: electric bulbs, furniture, solar panels, bicycles and machines. These are human-made resources. A wooden table is human-made, but the wood came from a forest, a natural resource. Even human-made resources depend on nature.

Natural resourceSomething we make from it
Wood from forestsFurniture
MineralsJewellery, cars, mobile phones
Soil and rocksBricks, houses, roads

Some natural resources are renewed by nature and some are not; read renewable and non-renewable resources.

Practice

  1. Which of these is a natural resource?

    1. (a) Furniture
    2. (b) Sunlight
    3. (c) Electric bulb
    4. (d) Bicycle
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) Sunlight

  2. About what percentage of air is oxygen?

    1. (a) 78%
    2. (b) 21%
    3. (c) 1%
    4. (d) 50%
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) 21%

  3. Metals such as aluminium, copper and iron are extracted from:

    1. (a) minerals
    2. (b) air
    3. (c) forests
    4. (d) water
    Show answer

    Answer: (a) minerals

  4. Name two uses of windmills.

    Show answer

    Answer: Windmills can run flour mills, pull up water from a well, or generate electricity.

  5. Why can we not use most of the water on Earth for drinking or farming?

    Show answer

    Answer: Most of it is in the oceans and seas and is salty. Of the freshwater, much is frozen as ice and snow or lies underground, so only a small part, in ponds, rivers, lakes and wells, is easy to reach.

Questions students ask

What are natural resources?

Resources that we get from nature, such as air, water, energy from the Sun, forests, soil, rocks, minerals and fossil fuels.

What are human-made resources?

Things that human beings create from natural resources to meet their needs, such as electric bulbs, furniture, solar panels and bicycles.

Why is the Sun called the main source of energy?

Plants use sunlight to make their food, animals eat plants, and we get food from both. The Sun also gives all living beings heat and light. So nearly all the energy living things use comes from the Sun.

What are rocks made of?

Rocks are made of minerals. Important metals, such as aluminium, gold, copper and iron, are extracted from minerals.

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