New
New
Year 8

Geology and the economy

I can explain why geological resources are important to the economy, and where they come from.

New
New
Year 8

Geology and the economy

I can explain why geological resources are important to the economy, and where they come from.

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

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Mining provides valuable materials like fossil fuels, stone, and metals.
  2. Rare earth metals are vital for modern tech like phones and green energy.
  3. Oil and gas are found in underground reservoirs, beneath land or sea.
  4. Oil and gas take millions of years to form.
  5. Fossil fuels and minerals support economies through jobs and exports.

Keywords

  • Mining - mining is the process of digging into the ground to remove natural resources

  • Quarrying - the process of removing natural resources from near the surface

  • Economy - the way money in a particular area is made and spent

  • Fossil Fuels - fossil fuels are natural substances that were formed over millions of years from the buried remains of ancient organisms; they include coal, oil and gas

  • Development - the improvement in people's quality of life within a country or region

Common misconception

If we run out of oil, we can just make more.

Fossil fuels take millions of years to form – much longer than a human lifetime. We can’t just “make” more. Once we use them up, they’re gone. That’s why we need to balance using them with finding cleaner, renewable alternatives.


To help you plan your year 8 geography lesson on: Geology and the economy, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

This lesson can be made relatable by linking it to the technology students use. You could bring in real-world objects (like a smartphone or battery) and ask students to guess what materials it contains.
Teacher tip

Equipment

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

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the rock cycle?
A type of bicycle
Correct answer: The process by which rocks are formed, broken down, and reformed
A weather event
A movement of tectonic plates
Q2.
What is weathering?
Correct answer: The breaking down of rocks by the atmosphere
The movement of rocks by rivers
Rocks melting into lava
Erosion by glaciers
Q3.
Erosion is when soil or rock is worn away and from its original place.
Correct Answer: transported, moved
Q4.
What is mass movement?
Earth spinning on its axis
Earth’s plates drifting apart
Correct answer: Rock and soil moving downhill due to gravity
Rain washing soil away
Q5.
Which of these is not a cause of mass movement?
Gravity
Heavy rainfall
Earthquakes
Correct answer: Sunshine
Q6.
Why is geology important for humans?
It helps with shopping
Correct answer: It helps us understand natural resources and natural hazards
It helps us plan holiday trips
It has no practical use

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is mining?
Building houses underground
Correct answer: Digging into the ground to remove natural resources
Planting crops
Creating maps of underground caves
Q2.
What is the main difference between mining and quarrying?
Quarrying goes deeper underground than mining
Mining removes resources from near the surface
Correct answer: Quarrying removes resources from near the surface
There is no difference
Q3.
Fossil fuels include coal, oil and .
Correct Answer: gas, natural gas
Q4.
What is the economy?
How mountains are formed
The way rocks change over time
How natural resources are made
Correct answer: The way money in an area is made and spent
Q5.
What are fossil fuels made from?
New plants
Correct answer: Buried remains of ancient organisms
Sand and water
Pieces of meteorites
Q6.
Why can't we just "make" more fossil fuels easily if we run out?
Correct answer: It takes millions of years to form them
Fossil fuels grow on trees
We can create them with simple machines
They are made overnight in factories