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GED Science: Earth's Resources, Cycles, and Natural Hazards Concepts

Importance ★★★★☆ · 35% (estimate)

Overview

This chapter connects Earth's systems with living things: how matter cycles, where our energy and resources come from, and how people prepare for natural hazards. Questions often use a data table or a short description of a town's plan.

Matter moves in cycles. In the water cycle, water evaporates, condenses into clouds, falls as precipitation, and flows back to the ocean. In the carbon cycle, photosynthesis removes carbon dioxide from the air, while respiration, burning, and volcanoes add it. In the nitrogen cycle, soil bacteria change nitrogen gas into forms plants can use. Fossil fuels formed over millions of years from buried ancient plants and sea organisms, so they are nonrenewable.

Renewable resources such as sunlight, wind, and trees are replaced naturally in a short time. Using a resource sustainably means not using it faster than it is replaced, such as pumping no more groundwater than rain refills. Natural hazards include earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and volcanic eruptions. Mitigation reduces their harm, for example with stronger building codes, raised homes, levees, dunes, and wetlands that absorb storm water. Strong earthquakes are much rarer than weak ones.

Key concepts

  • Water cycle

    Evaporation → condensation → precipitation → runoff and infiltration.

    Memory tipEvaporation goes up; precipitation comes down.

  • Carbon cycle

    Photosynthesis removes CO₂ from the air. Respiration, burning fuels, and volcanoes add it.

    Memory tipGrowing plants take carbon in; burning lets it out.

  • Nitrogen cycle

    Soil bacteria change nitrogen gas into forms plants can absorb; decomposers return nitrogen to the soil.

    Memory tipPlants cannot use nitrogen gas directly.

  • Fossil fuels

    Coal, oil, and natural gas formed from ancient buried organisms over millions of years.

    Memory tipFossil = from ancient life.

  • Renewable and nonrenewable

    Renewable: replaced naturally in a short time. Nonrenewable: limited, takes millions of years to form.

    Memory tipSun, wind, water, trees: renewable. Coal, oil, gas: not.

  • Mitigation

    Actions that reduce the damage from a natural hazard, such as raising homes or keeping dunes and wetlands.

    Memory tipMitigate = make the harm smaller.

Often tested

  • Sustainable use: do not use a resource faster than it is replaced.
  • Time to reach a level = distance left ÷ rate.
  • Averages from past data do not guarantee exact future events.

3 sample questions

Verified practice questions from this unit.

Practice questionReviewedEarth and Space Science › Earth's Resources, Cycles, and Natural Hazards★★★★☆

Question 1. Which of these natural resources is nonrenewable?

  1. ① Trees
  2. ② Coal
  3. ③ Sunlight
  4. ④ Wind
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation

Answer: ② Coal

Key point: Nonrenewable resources take millions of years to form

Coal formed over millions of years from buried plant remains. Once we use it, it cannot be replaced in a human lifetime, so it is nonrenewable.

Wrong choices

  • Trees: Trees can be replanted and regrow in a human lifetime, so they are renewable.
  • Sunlight: Sunlight keeps arriving every day, so it is renewable.
  • Wind: Wind keeps blowing, so it is renewable.
Practice questionReviewedEarth and Space Science › Earth's Resources, Cycles, and Natural Hazards★★★★☆

Question 2. Which process removes carbon dioxide from the air?

  1. ① Photosynthesis by plants
  2. ② Burning fossil fuels
  3. ③ Animal respiration
  4. ④ Volcanic eruptions
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation

Answer: ① Photosynthesis by plants

Key point: Plants take in CO₂; burning and respiration release it

In the carbon cycle, plants and algae take carbon dioxide out of the air during photosynthesis and store the carbon in sugars. Burning fuels, respiration, and volcanoes return carbon dioxide to the air.

Wrong choices

  • Burning fossil fuels: Burning fossil fuels adds carbon dioxide to the air.
  • Animal respiration: Animals breathe out carbon dioxide, so respiration adds it to the air.
  • Volcanic eruptions: Volcanoes release carbon dioxide into the air.
Practice questionReviewedEarth and Space Science › Earth's Resources, Cycles, and Natural Hazards★★★★☆

Question 3. Which action would best reduce hurricane damage to homes along a coast?

  1. ① Paving over coastal wetlands for parking lots
  2. ② Building homes as close to the water as possible
  3. ③ Building homes on raised supports and using stronger building codes
  4. ④ Removing sand dunes to improve the ocean view
▼ Show answer and explanation▲ Hide answer and explanation

Answer: ③ Building homes on raised supports and using stronger building codes

Key point: Mitigation reduces the damage a hazard can cause

Mitigation means reducing the harm a natural hazard can cause. Raising homes above flood levels and building them to resist strong winds lowers damage from storm surge and wind.

Wrong choices

  • Paving over coastal wetlands for parking lots: Wetlands soak up storm water and slow waves. Paving them makes flooding worse.
  • Building homes as close to the water as possible: Homes closest to the water face the worst flooding and waves.
  • Removing sand dunes to improve the ocean view: Sand dunes act as a barrier against storm waves. Removing them increases damage.
Practice 5 questions from this unit →

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