Natural Materials
List three examples of natural resources.
Answers will vary:
- wood, aloe vera, apples, carrots, diamonds, rocks, etc.
List three examples of synthetic resources.
Answers will vary.
- Plastic containers, pens, laptops, our chairs, our morning bins, etc.
Is a diamond a synthetic or natural material? Or both? Explain.
Diamonds can be found naturally AND made synthetically.
Define natural resources.
Natural resources are a material or resource that can be found in the natural environment/nature.
Define synthetic resources.
Synthetic resources are resources that are made using natural resources. Synthetic resources are created when two or more natural resources are combined through a chemical reaction.
Explain the difference between a renewable and nonrenewable resource.
Renewable resources are materials that can be recreated easily and quickly. An example of a renewable resource would be a bamboo plant. A nonrenewable resource cannot be recreated easily or quickly. An example of a nonrenewable resource would be fossil fuels like oil.
List three natural resources you have used/interacted with today.
Answers will vary.
- Foods like fruits and vegetables.
- Wood from a pencil.
- Rubber on the tires of the bus/car.
List three synthetic resources that you have used today.
Answers will vary.
- Your laptop, your chair, the vehicle you took to school, maybe a synthetic food at breakfast (cereal).
Which of the following does not belong in this list?
A: Grass
B: Rocks
C: Leggings
C: Leggings
Which of these products can be found naturally in the environment?
A: Plastic
B: Wool
C: Aerogel
B: Wool
Which of the following is a synthetic material made from petroleum (crude oil)?
A: Plastic
B: Polyester
C: All of the above
C: All of the above
Which of the following does not belong in the list?
A: Plastic lunch trays
B: Petunias
C: Our classroom chairs
B: Petunias
Describe how natural resources are related to synthetic resources.
Natural resources are required to create synthetic resources. Without natural resources humans would have nothing.
True or false:
Synthetic materials can exist without natural materials, and natural materials can exist without synthetic materials.
Partly true, partly false. Synthetic materials CAN'T exist without natural materials, but natural materials CAN exist without synthetic materials.
What type of reaction needs to occur to create a synthetic material?
A chemical reaction