Background Information

What Is Natural?
Background Information

Summary: What Is Natural? is actually four activities in one inquiry. In Thinking about What Is Natural, students use a Thinksheet to think through their own concept of "natural." In What Is Natural Outdoors? students explore an outdoor environment and classify found objects as abiota (nonliving), biota (living), natural, and nonnatural. In What Is a Matter Cycle? students use matter cycle graphic organizers in order to establish a connection between manufactured products and the earth's natural resources. In How Are Matter Cycles a Part of My Everyday Environment? students create matter cycles for objects that they use everyday. The Family Page extends this learning to the community by providing families with challenges to explore at home.

Related Topics: nature, biota (living) vs. abiota (nonliving), ecosystems, classification, cycles, natural resources, manufacturing, matter (solid, liquid, gas)

Ohio Academic Standards Alignment: Click here to view content standards alignment to Science for Ohio by grade level.

Background Information:

Natural. Nature is often defined in general terms. Phrases like "getting back to nature," "finding nature," etc. lend support to the notion that nature has been lost or forgotten. In today's culture it's unusual to get to see a natural resource made into a product, then returned to a natural resource again. As a result, students often lack an understanding of the human connection to nature and natural resources. They don't realize that everything around them comes from the earth and will inevitably return there in time.
Natural Resource. A natural resource is any matter that humans get from the Earth.
Biota. "Bio" means life. Biota means living. Living organisms are those which need SWEAT:
- Space
- Water
- Energy
- Air
- Time
Examples of biota include: animals, plants, fungi (like mushrooms), protists, and monerans (one-celled organisms including bacteria).

Abiota. Abiota means nonliving. The prefix "a" means not. Examples of abiota include soil, air, and water.
Cycles. One of the great laws of nature is "energy flows and matter cycles." The matter that students find whether solid, liquid, gas, living, nonliving, etc. is in the process of cycling. (See example.) Note: Additional links to matter cycle pages can be found on the Lesson or Ready to Print pages.
Misconceptions.
- Misconception: Manufactured products are not natural. Fact: Everything comes from something. All manufactured products (human or not) come from the earth's resources and will one day return to the earth's resources.
- Misconception: When humans manufacture products, they make them unnatural. Fact: All human products (including the tools to make them) came from the earth's resources and will one day return to the earth's resources.
- Misconception: Only humans manufacture. Fact: There are numerous examples of animals besides humans that manufacture. Three examples are listed below.
  - Hornets manufacture their homes and food from plants. (See example.)
  - Beavers manufacture their homes and food from trees. (See example.)
  - Termites manufacture cement to make their termite mounds hard and durable.
- Misconception: The earth's resources are infinite. Fact: The earth's resources are not infinite. Humans are manufacturing a larger percentage of the earth's resources than at any time in the earth's history. This level of manufacturing is reducing available resources and the biodiversity of living things worldwide.
- Misconception: We are not dependent upon nature. Fact: EVERYTHING we depend upon comes from nature.

Expected Results.
- Natural. Students will begin to form their own concept of "natural" based on direct observation and discussion.
- Living vs nonliving. Students will have a better concept of the characteristics of a living thing. Expect them to be comfortable with the terms abiota and biota.
- Cycles. Students will have a deeper understanding that all matter comes from the earth's resources and will, in time, return to the earth's resources to continue the cycle.
- Interdependence. Students should begin to realize that we are dependent upon nature and natural resources for our survival