Nonuniform Riches: Earth’s Uneven Minerals
Some states have more mineral resources due to the Earth’s geologic processes. In this lesson, students learn how plate tectonics, volcanoes, and erosion contribute to the uneven distribution of natural resources. This lesson plan is designed for NGSS Standard MS-ESS3-1.
Topics
- natural resources
- mineral distribution
- renewable resources
- nonrenewable resources
- fossil fuels
- plate tectonics
- volcanic activity
- weathering
- erosion
- earth materials
- resource availability
- geologic processes
- gold reserves
- copper deposits
- coal formation
- economic geology
- soil formation
- resource patterns
- geology models
- MS-ESS3-1