Year 9 - Geography
Rare earth materials
Natural resources: Can Earth meet our needs?
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit teaches pupils about the growing demand for natural resources and the different renewable and non-renewable ways humans try to meet their needs. Pupils will learn the impact of overexploitation and some of the ways natural resource exploitation can be managed.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe what rare earth materials are, explain the challenges they create and potential solutions.
Key Notes
- Rare earth materials are essential to modern technologies but challenging to extract and refine.
- Open pit mining can lead to deforestation, habitat and biodiversity loss.
- Extracting just one tonne of rare earth materials can produce up to 2,000 tonnes of toxic waste.
- Local communities are at risk of respiratory illnesses, reproductive and heart issues.
- Solutions include circular mineral harvesting, new technologies to improve recycling rates and new synthetic materials.
Vocabulary To Learn
- rare earth materials: a group of 17 metallic elements that are essential to modern technologies but challenging to extract and refine
- reserves: the remaining extractable amount of resources, such as minerals or energy sources
- heavy metals: metallic elements with high density, atomic weight or atomic number, many are known for their toxicity
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Rare earth materials are rare.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this geography topic using two clear key points.
Rare earth materials are essential to modern technologies but challenging to extract and refine. Open pit mining can lead to deforestation, habitat and biodiversity loss.
2. Define this geography term and use it in an example. 'rare earth materials'
a group of 17 metallic elements that are essential to modern technologies but challenging to extract and refine.
3. Correct this common geography misunderstanding.
Mistake: Rare earth materials are rare. Correction: Despite their name, they're not actually rare in quantity, they're just rarely found in concentrated, economically viable deposits.
More Lessons In This Unit
- A solution: genetically modified crops Study Guide
- Consumption and climate change Study Guide
- Energy in the UK Study Guide
- Energy use around the world Study Guide
- Fish resources Study Guide
- Food resources Study Guide
- Natural resources: The things we use Study Guide
- Sustainable fishing Study Guide
- The future: hydroponics and aquaponics Study Guide
- The palm oil dilemma Study Guide
- Windfarms: Decision making exercise Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 9 Geography guide library.