Researching about Natural Resources

4HR is beginning our summative assessment for our Where you live impacts how you live unit. We will be sharing our learning about:

Resources: natural, capital, human

Needs & Wants

Trade & Scarcity

Supply & Demand

Consumers & Producers

After choosing a natural resource to investigate, each student will use their Nonfiction reading skills to find important information. Here are our list of resources to use:

Encyclopedia Britannica 

username: panthers 

Choose to read at Elementary level first. You can choose to challenge yourself at the Middle or High school level after getting the important information from the Elementary level. This resource will be the most helpful, so start and stay here!

Big Universe

Username: student panther apps

Password: student panther apps

Group Username: libiskl

Your resource may have its own book on Big Universe. This your second stop for researching. 

Appropriate Google Search

This is the last resort for finding information. You will need to take your time sorting through information, too high, too low reading levels, and unimportant details. Use the other resources first.

-Oil for kids

-Oil - natural resource

Trade Routes

Trade Map

This resource is tricky to use, but gives you great information about the consumers of your country's natural resource. 

Other possibilities -no guarantee of finding anything related to your research.

Natural Resource Maps - website

Country Profile- National Geographic - Can read to find out what natural resources the country has.

Africa Natural Resources - Commodities

CIA Country Fact Book

Natural Resource - World Map

Natural Resource - World Map 2

Our investigations

Sean, Connor & Jamie - diamonds in Canada

Zaaviar & Sissi, Carmen, Emily- gold in China

Miguel - fruit in Spain

Mason - gold in California

Victoria, Eva & Carol - lumber

Ryan & Mihir- diamonds in Botswana

Sarah - Iron in the UK

Caimi - UK

Sarah - cattle

Elin - lumber in Nordic countries

ZY - fishing in Norway

Amaan - diamonds in Russia

 

Building Our Own Seismograph

4HR is building seismographs that are affordable, accurate, and sensitive for countries that can't afford fancy computer seismographs. Our first step to collect information that will help us design accurate and sensitive machines.

What is a Seismograph?

Finding out:

Handout

PowerScienceKnowledge

PBS Kids

Simple Seismograph creation

UC Berkeley professor explains

What could be more accurate? What could be more sensitive?

What did we find out about seismographs? What are they made of?
Connects to base ten number system, in that the Richter scale works in powers of ten - Jamie
Steady and stable - Zaaviar
The paper would go around a wheel, with an axle in the middle. - Sarah
Wood plank needs to be smooth. Paper needs to be tight. - Connor
Platform: use cardboard. - Emily
Ink: when the paper keeps on moving, the writing instrument keeps writing. - Mason
The height of the weight and the weight of the weight. If the weight is super heavy, it wouldn't show small movements because it is held down. If it is lighter, it would show the smaller movements. - Sean
Vertical metal rod and steel wire. - Victoria
Platform: use cereal boxes, put something heavy in it. - Carmen
Platform: wood, because you can drill into it. - Amaan
Platform: tile. - Sean
Ball and pencil hung from rod. - Carol
Inverted pendulum seismometer: pencil suspended on a metal rod, adjusted to change the pendulum, so it can be more accurate. When the ground shakes, the pencil shakes, drawing on the paper. Wavelengths converted on the Richter Scale: lines on the paper. - ZY
You need a weight to make it stable. - Miguel
Measures how big the Earth's movement. - Elin
These seismographs connect to pendulums, except they don't move and stay in the same spot. It picks up the vibration of the surface, which causes the pencil or pen to move. - Caimi