Natural Resources

5.11C Earth Picture Vocabulary

Natural Resources

Earth materials that are useful and important to humans

Renewable Resource

Resources that nature can provide again and again in a relatively short

period of time

Nonrenewable Resource

Resources that nature cannot replace quick enough to meet people’s needs

Inexhaustible Resource

Resources that are never used up as they are being used

Fossil Fuels

Fuels formed millions of years ago from the remains of dead plants and animals,

including coal, oil, and natural gas

Hydropower

The capture of energy from moving water for a useful purpose;

an alternative energy source

Solar Energy

The process of obtaining useful energy from the sun via solar panels

Windmill

An engine powered by the wind designed to produce energy from

an inexhaustible source