Coaching Centre
Chapter 7: The Earth's Resources Notes
Renewable and non-renewable resources from the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere; fossil fuels, power stations and uranium; minerals and mining; renewable energy and Australia's changing electricity grid; soil and living resources; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resource management; the water cycle and managing water in Australia.
Sections
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7A Renewable and non-renewable resources Mastered
What a natural resource is, the four spheres of the Earth that resources come from, renewable versus non-renewable resources and why the time scale matters, how renewable resources can still be used up, and reducing, reusing and recycling.
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7B Fossil fuels and power stations Mastered
How coal, oil and natural gas formed, where they are found in Australia, coal seam gas, how a coal-fired power station turns chemical energy into electricity, the electricity grid, carbon dioxide and the enhanced greenhouse effect, and the move to electric vehicles.
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7C Uranium and nuclear energy Mastered
Uranium as a non-renewable energy resource, Australia's uranium mines, nuclear fission and chain reactions, how a nuclear power station works, control rods, radiation, radioactive waste, Fukushima, and the debate about nuclear power in Australia.
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7D Minerals, ores and mining Mastered
Minerals and ores, what Australia mines, getting a metal out of its ore, open-cut and underground mining, waste rock and tailings, rehabilitating mine sites, critical minerals for batteries, and recycling metals and e-waste.
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7E Renewable energy Mastered
Wind, solar, hydro-electric, pumped hydro, tidal, wave, geothermal and biofuel energy, their advantages and disadvantages, storing energy with batteries, and how Australia's electricity grid is changing.
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7F Soil as a resource Mastered
What soil is made of, how soil forms from weathered rock, the soil profile, sand, silt, clay and humus, how well different soils hold water, living things in soil, and soil problems in Australia such as erosion, salinity and compaction, with ways to manage them.
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7G Living resources and caring for Country Mastered
Living resources from plants, animals, fungi and bacteria, forests and fisheries, palm oil, and how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge is used to manage land, fire, water and animals, including cultural burning, the Budj Bim eel traps, the Brewarrina fish traps, Indigenous rangers and Booderee National Park.
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7H The water cycle Mastered
Water as a resource that cycles through the environment, the three states of water, evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, run-off, infiltration and groundwater, how long water stays in each store, and how understanding the water cycle shapes how we manage water.
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7I Water in Australia Mastered
How little of Earth's water is fresh and available, how Australians collect, store and use water, droughts, floods, El Niño and La Niña, desalination and recycled water, the Murray–Darling Basin, and saving water at home.
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7J The Earth's Resources review Mastered
A summary of the whole Earth's Resources chapter, key words, and a mixed test covering renewable and non-renewable resources, fossil fuels, uranium, mining, renewable energy, soil, living resources, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resource management and the water cycle.