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Resource Patterns Lab

Where resources are found is one map; where they are used is another. Plot how consumption rises with development and trace the UK water divide.

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What you'll cover

Two different maps 🌍

The world's water, food and energy are **not** spread evenly. Some places have plenty; others face shortages. Where a resource is **found** and where it is **used** are two different maps, and the gap between them shapes much of human geography.

The consumption gap 📊

The biggest pattern is in **consumption**. People in **high-income countries** (HICs) use far more energy, water and food **per person** than people in **low-income countries** (LICs). Wealth drives demand: richer people own more, travel more and consume more.

Plot the pattern

An interactive activity.

Read your graph

Your graph shows that as development increases, energy use per person...

  • Rises
  • Falls
  • Stays exactly the same
  • Changes randomly

Match each resource to what controls where it is found

  • Fossil fuels
  • Fresh water
  • Solar energy
  • Fertile farmland
  • Only where ancient geology trapped it
  • Depends on climate and rainfall patterns
  • Greatest in sunny regions near the equator
  • Needs good soil and a suitable climate

The UK water divide 💧

In the UK, water supply does not match demand: - The wetter **north and west** (upland Scotland, Wales, the Lake District) have a water **surplus**. - The drier, more crowded **south and east** (including London) face water **deficit**, or stress.

Where is the stress?

Which part of the UK is most likely to face a water deficit (a shortage)?

  • The dry, densely populated south-east
  • The wet, upland north-west
  • The rainy hills of Wales
  • The Scottish Highlands

Why demand keeps rising 📉

Global consumption of food, energy and water keeps climbing. Two big drivers: - **Population growth**: more people to feed, supply and power. - **Economic development**: as people grow richer, each one consumes more.

The drivers

Select the TWO reasons global resource consumption is rising.

  • The world's population is growing
  • Countries are becoming richer and using more
  • People use less as they develop
  • Resources are spread perfectly evenly

Match each group to its pattern

  • High-income countries
  • Low-income countries
  • Fossil fuels
  • Renewable energy
  • Consume the most resources per person
  • Consume the least resources per person
  • A finite store being steadily used up
  • A growing share of many energy mixes

The UK energy mix is shifting 🔌

The UK's energy mix has **changed** over time: - **Coal**, once dominant, has fallen sharply. - **Gas** and **renewables** (especially wind) have grown. - The UK still **imports** some of its energy from abroad.

Resource-patterns frame

Resources like food, water and energy are spread _____ across the world. High-income countries consume _____ per person than low-income ones. In the UK, the drier _____-east faces water shortages. Global demand is rising because of population growth and economic _____.

unevenly more south development evenly less north decline

The big picture

Which type of country uses the most energy per person?

  • A high-income country
  • A low-income country
  • A country with a small population
  • A country near the equator