Many resources we use come from the Earth's crust. Minerals are naturally formed solids with a fixed chemical makeup. An ore is a rock with enough of a metal compound to make extracting the metal worthwhile, such as haematite for iron. Fossil fuels formed from the remains of living things buried long ago. Groundwater is stored in porous rocks called aquifers.
These resources are spread unevenly because of the geological processes that formed them: oil is found where ancient seas once were, and some metals are concentrated near old volcanoes. Most are non-renewable on a human time scale. Recycling metals, using less and finding substitutes all help resources last longer, and also reduce the damage from mining.
Worked example
Why is recycling aluminium better than mining new aluminium ore?
- Mining and extracting ore uses lots of energy and damages land.
- Recycling uses much less energy.
Answer:It also saves the limited ore for the future.
Key words
- mineral
- a natural solid with a fixed chemical makeup
- ore
- rock containing enough metal to extract
- aquifer
- porous rock that holds groundwater
- recycle
- process used materials so they can be used again
New questions every time.
NGSS-referenced: MS-ESS3-1