Environmental Resources Worksheet

Minerals

1.Minerals perform some of the most essential functions in society. They are the key to vitamins and without minerals, vitamins cannot perform their desired functions. Moreover, these minerals are everywhere in our society. A car, for instance, is made up of different minerals like iron ore, copper etc. These are basically inorganic compounds and metals that are used for much of the structure in human body like teeth and bones (Marcellus, 2010).

2.Metallic minerals have the characteristics of being able to produce new products when melted. Metallic minerals are usually hard, malleable and ductile. These minerals are usually shiny and reflect light. Two examples of such minerals are iron and copper. These are used for building structures.

Non-metallic minerals, on the other hand, do not result in new products upon melting. These are wide variety of minerals ranging from gemstones to sands. They are not ductile or malleable. Two examples are coal and salt. Non-metallic minerals are used for numerous purposes such as reducing different deficiencies in human body.

Mining

1. Minerals are extracted from the earth through a process called mining. In mining, mineworkers or miners dig the surface of earth to extract different minerals. Processing minerals is complex operations performed by metallurgical engineers. These engineers, with the help of necessary equipment, perform mineral processing or mineral dressing by separating commercially valuable minerals from their ores.

2.The three most common types of mining are strip mining, open pit mining and shaft mining. In strip mining, a seam of mineral is mined by first removing a long strip of soil and rocked surface. Strip mining is generally used for coal mining.

Open pit mining is process of extracting or mining mineral from the earth by removing them from open pit. Although, open pit mining is often confused with strip mining, but this is entirely different technique of mining. In Shaft mining, minerals are mined by using vertical tunnel from the top down.

3.The effects of extracting minerals include loss of biodiversity, contamination of surface water and groundwater by chemical material used for mining, soil contamination and erosion. In addition, in some mining projects, many forest resources have been destroyed in order to make room for the debris resulting from mining process.

Soil

1.Soil can be defined as the uppermost layer of earth's crest. It is composed of different minerals, organic compounds, air, water and living organisms. Soil provides a kind of interface between earth, air and water. Soil is very for the sustenance of environment as it plays a role of habitat and provides the platform for every activity on earth.

2.Both living and non-living organisms can be found in soil. The organism and soil have a relationship that is, ultimately, beneficial for the survival and prosperity of those living on earth. Since agriculture heavily relies on nutrient rich and fertile soil to enable the different crops to grow. Additionally, some organisms help in making nutrients by breaking organic compounds. Moreover, water keeps the soil moist in order to deliver the nutrients to plants in ...