icon-background-square
New
New
Year 7

Sustainable use of resources

I can explain what is meant by the sustainable use of resources, and describe ways to make transport and buildings more sustainable.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 7

Sustainable use of resources

I can explain what is meant by the sustainable use of resources, and describe ways to make transport and buildings more sustainable.

warning

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Renewable resources do not run out because they are replenished faster than they are used up.
  2. A resource is sustrainable it is maintained a certain level for as long as it is needed.
  3. Some resources, such as wood, are only renewable if they are used sustainably.
  4. We cannot have sustainable transport that uses petrol or diesel fuel.
  5. Altering the design of a building can make it more sustainable.

Keywords

  • Fuel - a substance we burn for heating things

  • Natural resource - a substance that can be found within the environment

  • Renewable resource - a resource that will not run out because it is replenished more quickly than we use it up

  • Sustainable resource - a resource that can be maintained at a certain level for as long as is needed

Common misconception

Wood is (always) a renewable resource.

Discuss with the pupils the different ways in which we can obtain and regenerate (or not) the wood we use. Highlight that trees do not necessarily replace all the wood we take from them, and even if they do, it may take many years of growing.


To help you plan your year 7 science lesson on: Sustainable use of resources, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Parts of this lesson are readily adaptable to the circumstances of your school. There may be projects or stratagies in place, or planned, that you can explore with your class in order to make the lesson more immediately relevant and accessible.
speech-bubble
Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following is a material?
brick wall
Correct answer: cotton
pair of jeans
Correct answer: wood
Q2.
What properties of a brick make it suitable for construction?
biodegradable
flexible
Correct answer: hard
Correct answer: rigid
Q3.
What properties of glass make it suitable for making a window?
brittle
opaque
Correct answer: strong
Correct answer: transparent
Q4.
What word describes a material that is a poor thermal conductor?
Correct Answer: thermal insulator, insulator, insulation, insulated
Q5.
Which materials are good thermal insulators?
glass
metal
Correct answer: plastic
Correct answer: wood
Q6.
What types of material are always good thermal conductors?
good thermal insulators
Correct answer: poor thermal insulators
Correct answer: ones that are metal
ones that are shiny

6 Questions

Q1.
What type of resources do we find in an environment?
Correct Answer: natural resources, natural, natural resource
Q2.
What type of resources are replenished more quickly than they are used up?
Correct Answer: renewable resources, renewable resource, renewable
Q3.
How can wood be used sustainably?
use wood from trees that grow quickly
plant a new tree each time one is cut down for wood
Correct answer: grow trees to replace the wood we use as quickly as it is used up
Q4.
Match each type of resource to the correct defintion.
Correct Answer:fuel,a substance we burn for heating things
tick

a substance we burn for heating things

Correct Answer:natural resource,a substance that comes from Earth
tick

a substance that comes from Earth

Correct Answer:sustainable resource,one that can be maintained at a certain level for as long as is needed
tick

one that can be maintained at a certain level for as long as is needed

Correct Answer:renewable resource,one that is replenished more quickly than we use it up
tick

one that is replenished more quickly than we use it up

Q5.
Why can petrol never be used sustainably?
Correct answer: it comes from oil that takes millions of years to form
it is a fuel that is burned
it is a natural resource
it is only found in some parts of the world
Q6.
What are disadvantages of using wood in place of brick to construct buildings?
Correct answer: it is flammable
it can be grown sustainably
it is biodegradable
Correct answer: it can rot