Virginia Science SOL 4.9
The student will investigate and understand important Virginia natural resources. Key concepts include:
a) watershed and water resources;
b) animals and plants;
c) minerals, rocks, ores, and energy sources;
d) forests, soil, and land.
a) watershed and water resources;
b) animals and plants;
c) minerals, rocks, ores, and energy sources;
d) forests, soil, and land.
Background Information for Instructor
Virginia is rich in a wide variety of natural resources, including forests, arable (farmable) land, coal, sand and aggregates (rocks), wildlife and aquatic organisms, clean water and air, and beautiful scenery.
A watershed is an area over which surface water (and the materials it carries) flows to a single collection place. The Chesapeake Bay watershed covers approximately half of Virginia’s land area. The other two major watershed systems are the Gulf of Mexico and the North Carolina Sounds.
Virginia’s water resources include groundwater, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, bays, and the Atlantic Ocean.
Virginia has a great variety of plant and animal resources.
Natural and cultivated forests are a widespread resource in Virginia.
Virginia’s soil and land support a great variety of life, provide space for many economic activities, and offer a variety of recreational opportunities.
A watershed is an area over which surface water (and the materials it carries) flows to a single collection place. The Chesapeake Bay watershed covers approximately half of Virginia’s land area. The other two major watershed systems are the Gulf of Mexico and the North Carolina Sounds.
Virginia’s water resources include groundwater, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, bays, and the Atlantic Ocean.
Virginia has a great variety of plant and animal resources.
Natural and cultivated forests are a widespread resource in Virginia.
Virginia’s soil and land support a great variety of life, provide space for many economic activities, and offer a variety of recreational opportunities.
Vocabulary
1. resource - something we need, want, and use (example: water, food)
2. natural resource - a resource that comes from the earth (made by nature) (example: tree, soil, water, plants, animals, sun) It helps support life on earth
3. cultivated resource - a resource created by man (example: planting trees)
4. renewable resource - a resource that can be replaced in a short period of time
5. non-renewable resource - a resource that cannot be replaced in a short period of time
6. agriculture - farming/raising (example: corn, pigs) Virginia’s largest industry
7. arable - good (as in soil), fertile
8. aggregates - rocks
9. ecosystem - living and nonliving things in an environment and all their interactions
10. niche - the role of an animal/plant in its environment
11. extinct species - animals/plants that have died out/ no more species of that kind are on earth
12. endangered species - animals/plants that are very close to becoming extinct/ only a few left
13. threatened species - animals/plants likely to become endangered/extinct
14. exotic species - a plant/animal new to an area
15. over-harvesting - taking more plants/animals than the population can withstand
16. habitat loss - animals/plants losing their homes (caused by pollution, destroying homes, over hunting)
17. watershed - an area of land where all water under it or draining off of it goes into a common body of water
18. aquatic - having to do with plants/animals in the water
19. precipitation - water to the earth in the form of rain, snow, sleet, hail
20. drought - caused by below average precipitation (not enough water)
21. flood - too much water
22. estuary - a place where fresh water and salt water mixes
23. hydro-power - electrical power produced when water is captured at a dam or created by falling water
24. reservoir - a human-made lake that stores water held back by a dam
25. surface water - water within the earth that supplies wells and springs
26. groundwater - water that comes from the ground
27. sediment - material, such as stones and sand, deposited by water
28. mineral - a naturally occurring substance, neither plant nor animal
29. ore - a mineral containing a useful substance that is mined from Earth
30. conservation - the act of saving, protecting, or using resources wisely
31. pollution - adding harmful substances to the air, water, and land
32. reduce - use smaller amounts of a natural resource (example: take showers, not baths)
33. reuse - use a resource over and over again (example: make a pencil holder from a can)
34. recycle - turn in plastic, glass, or cans to be used again