1. Pollution and Conservation of Resources Study Guide
Summit Hill Elementary
Third Grade

2. What are natural resources?
Natural resources are materials provided in nature that can be used by people.

3. What are natural resources?
Can you give at least 4 examples of natural resources?
Air, water, sunlight, oil, wood, coal and many others.

4. What are renewable resources?
Renewable resources can be replaced by Mother Nature within a human’s lifetime. Can you give three examples?

5. What are nonrenewable resources?
Renewable resources cannot be replaced; once they are used up, they are gone. Can you give three examples?

6. What is pollution?
Pollution occurs when the environment is contaminated by substances that are harmful to living things.

7. What are the 4 types of pollution?
The 4 types of pollution are water, land, air and noise.

8. What causes air pollution?
Cars, trucks, trains, planes and ships all burn lots of fossil fuels.
Waste incinerators, manufacturing, and power plants emit high levels of chemicals into the air.

9. What are the affects of air pollution on people?
Air pollution can cause irritation to the
eyes, nose, and throat.
Air pollution can cause upper respiratory (breathing) difficulties such as bronchitis and pneumonia, and it can aggravate asthma.

10. What causes water pollution?
Sources of water pollution include factory disposal, oil spills from oil tanker accidents, run-off from insecticides and fertilizers, and wastes & bacteria from livestock and pets.

11. What are the effects of water pollution?
Death of aquatic animals
Disruption of food chains
Diseases – people can get sick from eating seafood and fish from polluted waters; people can get sick from drinking contaminated, improperly treated water.
Destruction of ecosystems.

12. What are some causes of land pollution?
Littering & overcrowded landfills
Deforestation and soil erosion
Mining activities
Construction activities
Farming activities which apply chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers to the soil

13. What are some effects of land pollution?
Loss of fertile land
Loss of habitats and ecosystems
Environmental effects such as global
warming
Bad effect on human health if we ingest
contaminated fruits and vegetables

14. What is noise pollution?
Noise that interferes with normal activities such as sleeping or conversation, or hurts our ears is
considered pollution.

15. What are some effects of noise pollution?
stress
hearing loss
high blood pressure
sleep disruption
lost productivity

16. What can you do to help? How? Conserve our resources! Reduce! Reuse!
Recycle!

17. What does it mean to conserve by reducing?
Reducing means to use less of a resource.
Can you give 3 examples?
Turn off the lights and other electronics when not in use
Take shorter showers
Turn off the water when you brush your teeth
Fix leaky faucets
Carpool, walk or ride your bike rather than go in the car
Adjust the thermostat - wear a sweater when it’s cool or use a fan when it’s hot.

18. What does it mean to conserve by reusing?
To reuse means to use something again rather than throw it away, or find someone else who can use it.
Can you give 3 examples?
Use gift bags and reuse them again and again.
Bring cloth shopping bags to the grocery store instead of using disposable bags.
Donate clothes you outgrow to charity or hand them down to a younger friend or relative
Buy a refillable water bottle rather than buy a one-use bottled water.

19. What does it mean to conserve by recycling?
To recycle means to make an old or useless thing into something new or useful. Many times this means sending the items to a recycling center.
Can you give 3 examples of materials that can be recycled?
Newspapers
Aluminum cans
Cardboard
Glass bottles or jars
Metal cans
Phone books
Batteries

20. Anybody can help care for the earth!
What will you do?