Earth & Space Science · free reference
Part 3: Earth's Resources
Natural resources, Energy from the Earth and Caring for land, water and air. Every fact lists its source, and you can share a link to any topic.
In short: People take resources from nature, such as water, wood, minerals and soil, and use energy sources too. Some sources renew themselves; others can run out.[1][2][3][4]
Facts
- Renewable energy comes from sources that nature keeps refilling. They will not run out, but only so much is available at a time.[3]
- Renewable sources include biomass, hydropower, geothermal, wind and solar energy.[3]
- Nonrenewable sources cannot be made again quickly, so they can be used up.[4]
More facts
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- The Energy Kids site lists oil, natural gas, coal and uranium as nonrenewable sources.[5]
- Every energy source is either renewable or nonrenewable.[6]
- Recycling means we need to take less wood, water and minerals from nature to make new things.[1]
- Plant life depends on soil, and soil is vital to life on Earth.[2]
- Only about 2.5 percent of Earth's water is fresh water, the kind life needs to survive.[7]
Key words in three languages
(3)
| English | Spanish | Portuguese |
|---|---|---|
| natural resource[1] | recurso natural[8] | recurso natural[9] |
| renewable[3] | renovable[10] | renovável[11] |
| nonrenewable[4] | no renovable[8] | não renovável[11] |
Each word cites a page that uses it.
More practice
(5)
- Science game: Where living things liveThe Experiments You Run · free, no account neededFree
- Science game: Caring for our EarthThe Experiments You Run · free, no account neededFree
- Kindergarten science practice questionsQuestions from every science topic in the grade, with answers · freeFree
- Lesson: Where living things liveKindergarten · full lesson with practice and a checkMembers
- Lesson: Caring for our EarthKindergarten · full lesson with practice and a checkMembers
Members-only items are marked. The science game and the worksheets by grade are free.
Sources (11)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Recycling Basics and Benefits · epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics-and-benefits (page updated Jun 22, 2026; checked Oct 26, 2026)
- Soil Science Society of America, Soils 4 Kids · All About Soil · soils4kids.org/about (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Kids · Renewable · eia.gov/kids/energy-sources/renewable (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Kids · Nonrenewable · eia.gov/kids/energy-sources/nonrenewable.php (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Kids · What Is Energy? · eia.gov/kids/what-is-energy (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration · Sources of energy · eia.gov/energyexplained/what-is-energy/sources-of-energy.php (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School · Where is Earth's Water? · usgs.gov/water-science-school/science/where-earths-water (page updated Jun 6, 2018; checked Oct 26, 2026)
- Project Learning Tree (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) · Pistas y Señales (Renewable or Not? student page) · plt.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/EYE_6-8_Renewable-Or-Not_StudentPage_Clues-and-Cues_Pistas-y-Senales.pdf (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- Toda Matéria (Brazilian education reference) · Recursos Naturais · todamateria.com.br/recursos-naturais (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- RAE-ASALE, Diccionario de la lengua española · renovable · dle.rae.es/renovable (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- Toda Matéria (Brazilian education reference) · Fontes de energia · todamateria.com.br/fontes-de-energia (checked Oct 26, 2026)
See something we should correct about “Natural resources”? Tell us.
In short: People get energy from coal, oil and natural gas (fossil fuels), from uranium, and from renewable sources like the Sun, wind, flowing water and heat inside the Earth.[1][2][3][4]
Facts
- Coal, oil and natural gas are called fossil fuels. They formed long ago from plants and animals that were buried and slowly changed.[1]
- Coal began as plants in swampy forests long, long ago. Dirt and rock buried them, and over millions of years pressure and heat turned them into coal.[5]
- Coal is nonrenewable because making more takes millions of years.[5]
More facts
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- Geothermal energy is heat from inside the Earth. It is renewable because the Earth keeps making this heat.[4]
- People use heat from inside the Earth in many different ways.[4]
- Geothermal heat pumps use the steady temperature just below the ground to warm and cool buildings.[4]
- Geothermal energy comes from heat inside the Earth.[2]
- Wind energy comes from the Sun warming Earth unevenly, which makes air move.[2]
- Hydropower comes from flowing water.[2]
- Nuclear energy comes from splitting atoms of uranium.[2]
- Renewable sources basically never run out, but only so much is available at any time.[2]
Key words in three languages
(11)
| English | Spanish | Portuguese |
|---|---|---|
| renewable[3] | renovable[6] | renovável[7] |
| nonrenewable[1] | no renovable[8] | não renovável[7] |
| fossil fuel[1] | combustible fósil[8] | combustível fóssil[7] |
| coal[5] | carbón[8] | carvão mineral[7] |
| natural gas[1] | gas natural[8] | gás natural[7] |
| oil (petroleum)[9] | petróleo[8] | petróleo[7] |
| geothermal energy[4] | energía geotérmica[8] | energia geotérmica[7] |
| solar energy[3] | energía solar[10] | energia solar[7] |
| wind energy[3] | energía eólica[11] | energia eólica[7] |
| hydropower[3] | energía hidroeléctrica[12] | energia hidrelétrica[7] |
| nuclear energy[2] | energía nuclear[10] | energia nuclear[7] |
Each word cites a page that uses it.
More practice
(3)
- Science game: Factors in rising global temperaturesThe Experiments You Run · free, no account neededFree
- Grade 8 science practice questionsQuestions from every science topic in the grade, with answers · freeFree
- Lesson: Factors in rising global temperaturesGrade 8 · full lesson with practice and a checkMembers
Members-only items are marked. The science game and the worksheets by grade are free.
Sources (12)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Kids · Nonrenewable · eia.gov/kids/energy-sources/nonrenewable.php (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration · Sources of energy · eia.gov/energyexplained/what-is-energy/sources-of-energy.php (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Kids · Renewable · eia.gov/kids/energy-sources/renewable (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Kids · Geothermal · eia.gov/kids/energy-sources/geothermal (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration · Coal explained · eia.gov/energyexplained/coal (page updated Oct 24, 2023; checked Oct 26, 2026)
- RAE-ASALE, Diccionario de la lengua española · renovable · dle.rae.es/renovable (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- Toda Matéria (Brazilian education reference) · Fontes de energia · todamateria.com.br/fontes-de-energia (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- Project Learning Tree (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) · Pistas y Señales (Renewable or Not? student page) · plt.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/EYE_6-8_Renewable-Or-Not_StudentPage_Clues-and-Cues_Pistas-y-Senales.pdf (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Kids · What Is Energy? · eia.gov/kids/what-is-energy (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- RAE-ASALE, Diccionario de la lengua española · energía · dle.rae.es/energ%C3%ADa (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- IDAE (Instituto para la Diversificación y Ahorro de la Energía, Gobierno de España) · Eólica · idae.es/tecnologias/energias-renovables/uso-electrico/eolica (checked Oct 30, 2026)
- Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica (MITECO), CENEAM: seminario con IDAE · Hidroeléctrico, energías del mar y geotermia · miteco.gob.es/es/ceneam/grupos-de-trabajo-y-seminarios/red-parques-nacionales/hidroelectricoenergiasdelmarygeotermia-mcarmenlopezocon_tcm30-169034.pdf (checked Oct 30, 2026)
See something we should correct about “Energy from the Earth”? Tell us.
In short: Reducing, reusing and recycling, saving water at home, and checking the Air Quality Index are everyday ways to care for land, water and air.[1][2][3]
Facts
- Recycling means collecting things that would be thrown away and turning them into material for something new.[1]
- Recycling keeps waste out of landfills.[1]
- The EPA says to reduce and reuse first, and recycle what is left.[1]
More facts
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- Turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth.[2]
- Little drips and leaks at home can waste gallons of water each day.[2]
- Leaks in an average home can waste about 180 gallons a week, which adds up to about 9,400 gallons in a year.[4]
- At home, an average person in the U.S. uses about 82 gallons of water each day.[4]
- The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a daily score for how clean the air is. It runs from 0 to 500.[3]
- A higher AQI number means dirtier air and more risk to health.[3]
- When the AQI is over 100, the air starts to be unhealthy: first for people who are more sensitive to it, and then for everyone as the number climbs.[3]
Key words in three languages
(2)
| English | Spanish | Portuguese |
|---|---|---|
| recycling[1] | reciclaje[5] | reciclagem[6] |
| pollution[3] | contaminación[7] | poluição[8] |
Each word cites a page that uses it.
More practice
(3)
- Science game: Caring for our EarthThe Experiments You Run · free, no account neededFree
- Kindergarten science practice questionsQuestions from every science topic in the grade, with answers · freeFree
- Lesson: Caring for our EarthKindergarten · full lesson with practice and a checkMembers
Members-only items are marked. The science game and the worksheets by grade are free.
Sources (8)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Recycling Basics and Benefits · epa.gov/recycle/recycling-basics-and-benefits (page updated Jun 22, 2026; checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, WaterSense · Start Saving · epa.gov/watersense/start-saving (page updated May 8, 2026; checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · AirData Basic Information · epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data/air-data-basic-information (page updated Apr 2, 2026; checked Oct 26, 2026)
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, WaterSense · Statistics and Facts · epa.gov/watersense/statistics-and-facts (page updated Mar 11, 2026; checked Oct 26, 2026)
- RAE-ASALE, Diccionario de la lengua española · reciclaje · dle.rae.es/reciclaje (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa · reciclagem · dicionario.priberam.org/reciclagem (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- RAE-ASALE, Diccionario de la lengua española · contaminación · dle.rae.es/contaminaci%C3%B3n (checked Oct 26, 2026)
- Toda Matéria (Brazilian education reference) · Recursos Naturais · todamateria.com.br/recursos-naturais (checked Oct 26, 2026)
See something we should correct about “Caring for land, water and air”? Tell us.