Nature's Treasures | Science Grade 6 CBSE

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Six of nature’s treasures

Every resource has its own story — where it comes from and whether it returns. Tap each one to learn more.

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The three big ideas

Air is a mixture of gases – mostly nitrogen, with about one-fifth oxygen, a little carbon dioxide, water vapour and dust. We breathe its oxygen; it lets fuels burn and even drives windmills.
Water covers most of the Earth, but the seas are salty; only a small share is fresh water in rivers, lakes, ponds and underground (groundwater) that we can drink and farm with.
Soil is the thin top layer that supports plants. It forms very slowly as rock breaks down over a long time, mixed with humus (decayed remains) that makes it fertile.
Soil lies in layers: dark fertile topsoil, then coarser subsoil, then broken rock and finally solid rock below.

Minerals are useful substances found in the Earth’s rocks – the iron, aluminium and copper in our tools, the salt in our food, and the stone and sand used for building.
Fossil fuels – coal, petroleum and natural gas – formed over millions of years from plants and animals buried deep underground. They power vehicles, factories and stoves.
Because they take so long to form, fossil fuels and minerals are exhaustible (limited): once we use them up, they cannot be replaced for ages.

Common mistake: assuming the Earth’s stores of coal, oil or minerals are endless. They are limited and form too slowly to refill in human time – which is why they must be used sparingly.

Renewable resources are renewed by nature in a short time and will not easily run out – sunlight, wind, water (through the water cycle) and forests if we replant them.
Non-renewable resources are limited and take millions of years to form – coal, petroleum, natural gas and minerals. Once used, they are effectively gone.
Conservation means using resources wisely so they last: follow the 3 Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, close running taps, switch off unused lights, plant trees and prevent pollution.
Move to renewable energy – solar panels, solar cookers and wind turbines – to save the limited fossil fuels and keep the air clean.

Worked example. Sort these into renewable and non-renewable: sunlight, coal, wind, petroleum.

Renewable: sunlight, wind (nature keeps supplying them). Non-renewable: coal, petroleum (formed over millions of years; limited).

Where you'll meet it

Caring for our treasures

Rainwater harvesting

Homes and schools catch monsoon rain from rooftops into tanks and pits so it soaks back into the ground – refilling wells and saving precious fresh water for the dry season.

Solar power

Solar panels on a rooftop and solar cookers in a courtyard turn free sunshine into electricity and heat – a renewable resource that never sends a fuel bill or smoke.

Planting trees

Tree-planting drives like Van Mahotsav restore forests, hold the soil together, clean the air and bring back rain – renewing a resource we depend on.

Check yourself

Competency quiz

Modelled on the competency-based pattern — MCQ, assertion–reason and a case study, testing whether you can use the ideas, not just recall them.

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