Natural Resources

http://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/lessonplans/chapter6/lesson12

Culminating project: How does the increase in human population and consumption of natural resources impact the ecosystem (project will cover) We might want to assign specific resources in specific locations/ecosystems. for example one group studies the effects of coal mining in Kentucky, one group does oil in alaska(or canada), chilean copper mines?

Identify Evidence for/ Evaluate evidence for/ present an argument

• • changes in human population over a given time period (graph for World population)

  • what is your resource used for? how has the use of your resource changed over the years?

  • what effect has the overuse of your resource had on the ecosystem?

  • How is your resource mined and what are the potential impacts of this mining on ecosystems

  • possibly talk about positive consequences for humans...

students choose a resource: wood, water, oil, coal, natural gas, minerals (lithium, silicon, copper)- differentiate by assigning resources

We will also do a differentiated workshop version of this project in which students investigate a synthetic material and look into similar questions bulleted above plus additional?

NGSS Standard: MS-PS1-3

Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

Key Concepts

• • Synthetic materials are made from natural resources.

  • Synthetic materials are made by chemically changing the starting substances to create a material with different characteristics.

  • Some examples of synthetic materials are plastics, medicines, and new fuels.

  • A synthetic substance may be chemically identical to a naturally-occurring substance or may be different.

  • Making and using synthetic materials have both positive and negative impacts on society.