MS-ESS3-1: Why Resources Are Found Where They Are
Also called NGSS MS-ESS3-1 · Topic: Earth's Systems · Earth and Space Science
The Official Wording
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth's mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on how these resources are limited and typically non-renewable, and how their distributions are significantly changing as a result of removal by humans. Examples of uneven distributions of resources as a result of past processes include but are not limited to petroleum (locations of the burial of organic marine sediments and subsequent geologic traps), metal ores (locations of past volcanic and hydrothermal activity associated with subduction zones), and soil (locations of active weathering and/or deposition of rock).
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What MS-ESS3-1 Means in Plain English
Middle schoolers use evidence to explain why minerals, fuels and groundwater sit in some places and not others. Oil collects where ancient sea life was buried and trapped under tight rock, metal ores form near old volcanoes, and good aquifers form where porous gravel was laid down.
The key idea is that most of these resources took thousands to millions of years to build up, so people use them far faster than nature replaces them. Students build on rock-cycle work (MS-ESS2-1) and later weigh how growing demand strains these supplies (MS-ESS3-4).
MS-ESS3-1 I Can Statements
- I can explain why oil is found only in certain rock layers.
- I can link metal ores to places with past volcanic activity.
- I can use a model to show where groundwater collects.
MS-ESS3-1 Worked Example
A tabletop groundwater model that shows why one well finds water and another comes up dry.
Why does a well in one spot find plenty of water while a well nearby comes up dry?
Set It Up: A clear plastic tub, a slab of pottery clay, aquarium gravel, potting soil, two drinking straws as wells, a plastic syringe and a watering can.
- Press the clay flat across the tub floor, pile gravel on it at one end only, then cover everything with soil.Gravel pocket hidden under soil at one end
- Push one straw down into the gravel and the other into soil above bare clay at the far end.Well A in gravel, Well B over clay
- Sprinkle 500 mL of water over the surface like a rain shower and wait five minutes.Water soaks in, nothing pools on top
- Draw from each well with the syringe and record how much comes up.Well A: about 40 mL, Well B: a few drops
- Keep drawing from Well A without adding any more rain.Flow slows, then stops
Water gathered in the gravel above the clay, so only the well placed there could draw much, and it ran dry when we took water faster than rain refilled it.
Why it works: Gravel has large connected pore spaces that store water while clay blocks it, so aquifers form only where rivers or seas once laid down porous sediment over a tight bed.
Common Mistakes with MS-ESS3-1
Thinking resources are spread evenly
“Every country has some oil underground.”
Try this: Point to the conditions each resource needs, like buried sea life and trapping rock for oil, and show that few places have them.
Picturing groundwater as underground lakes
Drawing a big open cave full of water under the school
Try this: Most groundwater fills tiny spaces between grains of sand and gravel. Pour water into a jar of gravel to see where it hides.
Calling every resource renewable
“The oil will come back if we just wait.”
Try this: Compare timescales: oil and ores take millions of years to form, and deep aquifers refill over centuries or longer, far slower than people pump.
Where MS-ESS3-1 Fits
Practice MS-ESS3-1
Quick Check
- Why is oil found in some rock layers and not others?
- Why are many copper and gold deposits found near old volcanoes?
- A town pumps its well faster than rain can refill the aquifer. What happens?