CLASS 8 SOCIAL SCIENCE · CHAPTER 1 · STUDY NOTES
Natural Resources and Their Use
Understand natural resources and their use through short explanations, labelled models and original practice. Read one topic, explain it in your own words, then check.
EXPLORE
A resource is something people can use
Nature offers water, land, plants and minerals. They become resources when people can use them to meet a need.Three useful roles
Picture from the NCERT book
Sign in free to see it.
- Natural resource
- Something found in nature that people can use, such as soil, sunlight or minerals.
A fast-flowing stream can supply electricity when suitable technology, money and local conditions make a hydel project possible.
Resources support life, provide materials and supply energy. These uses overlap: water supports life and can also help generate power.
Take a moment. What do you think?
PAUSE & TRY · think first, then check with a free account
Question
Why is useful technology part of turning a stream into an energy resource?
Sign in to see the answer
Write your own answer and compare it with ours. It’s free.
Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 1, 2, 3, 4.
EXPLORE
Renewable resources still need careful use
A resource is renewable when natural processes can replenish it on human timescales.Compare replenishment times
- Renewable resource
- A resource that can be replenished through continuing natural processes.
- Non-renewable resource
- A resource formed so slowly that used supplies cannot be replaced on a human timescale.
Forests can regrow, but only if harvesting leaves enough time and conditions for recovery. Pollution can make water unusable even though the water cycle continues.
Coal and petroleum take very long periods to form. Metals can be recycled, but recycling does not make fresh mineral deposits grow quickly.
Let’s look a little closer.
Go deeper: Traditional knowledge can help
Communities may protect breeding seasons, sacred groves or water sources. Such practices can support recovery when their effects are checked in the local environment.
PAUSE & TRY · think first, then check with a free account
Question
Does recycling copper turn a copper deposit into a renewable resource?
Sign in to see the answer
Write your own answer and compare it with ours. It’s free.
Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 5, 6, 7, 8.
EXPLORE
Help natural cycles keep working
A healthy system reuses materials and supports new life.A living nutrient cycle
- Restoration
- Helping a damaged ecosystem return towards a healthier condition.
- Regeneration
- The growth or renewal of life within an ecosystem.
Fallen leaves are broken down by decomposers. Their nutrients can return to soil and support new plants.
Planting trees is one step; suitable species, soil, water and protection matter too. A plantation is not automatically the same as a diverse natural forest.
PAUSE & TRY · think first, then check with a free account
Question
How do decomposers connect fallen leaves to new plant growth?
Sign in to see the answer
Write your own answer and compare it with ours. It’s free.
Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 5, 6, 7.
EXPLORE
Nature works; people benefit
An ecosystem has processes of its own. We call their benefits to people ecosystem services.Process → effect → benefit
- Ecosystem function
- A process within an ecosystem, such as nutrient cycling or pollination.
- Ecosystem service
- A benefit people receive from ecosystem processes.
A bee moving pollen is part of pollination. When that process supports a fruit crop, people benefit from food production.
Forest roots can hold soil; this can reduce erosion and protect water quality. Damage to one part of a system can reduce several benefits.
PAUSE & TRY · think first, then check with a free account
Question
Is pollination only a human benefit?
Sign in to see the answer
Write your own answer and compare it with ours. It’s free.
Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 7, 8.
EXPLORE
Resources cross political boundaries
Resources are unevenly distributed. A river can connect places with different needs.One river, connected decisions
- Shared river basin
- The area drained by a river and its tributaries that may extend across several regions.
Mineral deposits and climate affect where mining, farming and industries develop. Trade can connect places with different supplies.
Water used upstream can affect people downstream. River disputes need cooperation, reliable information and arrangements that consider different users.
Go deeper: Development has costs too
Mining or a new industrial project may create jobs and income, while also affecting ecosystems and displacing residents. A decision should examine livelihoods, rehabilitation and environmental impacts together.
PAUSE & TRY · think first, then check with a free account
Question
Why should a downstream farming region be part of river-water decisions?
Sign in to see the answer
Write your own answer and compare it with ours. It’s free.
Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 8, 9, 10.
EXPLORE
Having resources is not enough
A rich mineral supply does not automatically give everyone a better life.What turns resource income into benefits?
- Resource curse
- A situation where resource wealth is linked to weak development, conflict or heavy dependence rather than broad benefits.
Transparent government, skills and fair sharing help resource income support public services. Corruption and conflict can prevent those gains.
Processing materials, developing skills and building varied industries can create more value than relying only on raw-material exports.
PAUSE & TRY · think first, then check with a free account
Question
Name one way mineral income could benefit people beyond the mine.
Sign in to see the answer
Write your own answer and compare it with ours. It’s free.
Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 11, 12.
EXPLORE
Groundwater falls when pumping outruns recharge
Water stored underground needs time and suitable conditions to be replenished.Watch recharge and pumping
- Inflow
- Water that replenishes storage.
- Outflow
- Water withdrawn for use.
- Recharge
- Water entering groundwater storage from rain, rivers or other sources.
- Groundwater depletion
- A fall in groundwater storage when withdrawals exceed replenishment over time.
Punjab’s Green Revolution increased food production, but heavy pumping and water-demanding crops added pressure on groundwater.
Crop choice, efficient irrigation, rainwater management and reliable measurements can help. One measure alone cannot solve every local problem.
PAUSE & TRY · think first, then check with a free account
Question
A model aquifer receives 8 units and loses 12 units in a month. What happens to its storage?
Sign in to see the answer
Write your own answer and compare it with ours. It’s free.
Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 12, 13, 14.
EXPLORE
Care for soil and compare material choices
Sustainable use means weighing benefits, costs and longer-term effects.Two questions before choosing
- Stewardship
- Responsible care for resources so people and ecosystems can keep benefiting.
Mulching, crop rotation and suitable soil management can reduce damage and support fertility. Practices must fit the place and crop.
Cement supports buildings and infrastructure, but production can create dust, pollution and emissions. Compare materials for safety, durability, local conditions and their whole life cycle.
Go deeper: Knowledge across generations
Traditional plant knowledge, including texts such as Vrikshayurveda, can prompt useful questions about caring for trees. A claimed treatment still needs reliable evidence and suitability checks.
PAUSE & TRY · think first, then check with a free account
Question
Why is “always use one building material” a weak rule?
Sign in to see the answer
Write your own answer and compare it with ours. It’s free.
Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 12, 15, 16.
EXPLORE
Real examples show choices in action
Sikkim and solar-energy projects illustrate different approaches to resource use.From sunlight to a usable supply
Picture from the NCERT book
Sign in free to see it.
- Organic farming
- A farming system using specified practices and standards, including restrictions on many synthetic inputs.
- Solar energy
- Energy from sunlight that can be used for electricity or heat.
Sikkim was formally declared a fully organic state in 2016. Certification is a farming-system achievement; it does not guarantee every farmer the same yield or income.
The International Solar Alliance (ISA), launched by India and France in 2015, supports cooperation on solar energy. Solar projects still need land, materials, maintenance and suitable planning.
PAUSE & TRY · think first, then check with a free account
Question
Why does renewable sunlight not make a solar project free of resource costs?
Sign in to see the answer
Write your own answer and compare it with ours. It’s free.
Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 16, 17, 18.
EXPLORE
Ask who benefits, now and later
A responsible decision considers access, ecosystems and future needs together.Three checks for a decision
- Sustainable development
- Meeting present needs while protecting the ability of future generations to meet theirs.
Clean air, safe water and fertile land are essential, but access is unequal. Decisions should consider people whose needs are often overlooked.
For a proposed water project, ask: who gains, who loses, what changes in nature, and how will the effects be monitored?
PAUSE & TRY · think first, then check with a free account
Question
A town protects its own drinking water but sends untreated waste downstream. Is that responsible stewardship?
Sign in to see the answer
Write your own answer and compare it with ours. It’s free.
Sign inNew here? Sign up freeNCERT reference: chapter PDF pages 18, 19, 20.