Lesson One

Using Resources to Produce Goods and Services in

Michigan

The Economy of Michigan Unit Two:

the study of places as well as how people interact with the environment of different

places.

GEOGRAPHY

An important example of human/environment interaction in

Michigan is the way in which people have used natural resources.

Describe one example oh how people have interacted with the environment of Michigan.

The BIG Ideas

Geography is the study of places and how people interact with the environment.

One way people interact with the environment is by using natural resources.

Economics is the study of how people use resources to produce goods and services that people need or want.

Natural resources are studied in both geography and economics.

People also use human and capital resources to produce goods and services.

An entrepreneur is someone who combines the natural, human and capital resources to produce goods or services.

natural resources

things in nature that people find useful   Example: Water, soil and trees are

natural resources.

Natural Resources

Fertile soil corn, soybeans, potatoes, apples

Water manufactured goods such as cars

Trees lumber, furniture

Iron cars, tools

Limestone steel, cement

Oil plastic

Sand glass

economics

the study of how people use limited resources to produce goods and services that people want or need.

  Example: In economics you study topics

such as economic systems, trade, and production

When you identified products that could be made from natural resources you were actually studying economics.

economy

activities related to making, trading and selling goods and services

Example: Making cars has been an important part of the economy of Michigan for a long time.

What natural resources are needed to produce this pencil?

The economy of Michigan is dependent on our natural resources and the production of lots of different kinds of goods.

Possible answers include trees for the wood, soil to grow the trees and water for the paint.

Vlasic Company has been making these pickles using the natural resources of Michigan for many years.

ProductNatural Resources

Needed to Produce it

Michigan Products and Natural Resources Sample Answers

human resources

workers and their skills  Example: Truck drivers, doctors, and

teachers are human resources.

What human resources are needed to produced the pencil?

Possible answers include a person who grows trees, the person who cuts down trees, a designer, a factory worker, a truck driver, etc.

capital resources

goods that are used to produce more goods and services

  Example: Factories and tools are capital

resources.

What capital resources are need to produced this pencil?

Possible answers include paint, a saw, a factory, a truck, a machine, tools, etc.

NaturalResources

HumanResources

CapitalResources

Resource ChartWhat kinds of resources are

needed to produce a car?

NaturalResources

HumanResources

CapitalResources

Resource Chart – Sample AnswersWhat kinds of resources are

needed to produce a car?

Water

Iron and other minerals

Sand – for glass

Petroleum (oil)- for man-made rubber

Rubber Trees – for natural rubber

Designer

Engineer

Factory Worker

Truck Driver

Oil Drilling Crew

Tools

Machines

Robots

Factory

Oil Drilling Rig (Derrick)

Tap – for Rubber Tree

Truck

entrepreneur

 someone who combines natural, human,

and capital resources to produce goods or services

 Example: Henry Ford is an example of a

Michigan entrepreneur.

Meet an Entrepreneur of the Past

Henry Ford

Highlight all of the numbers while you read? What do these numbers mean?

Informational Text

Informational text can have different kinds of text patterns.

Text selections like this one using dates or years follow a sequential text pattern.

In other words, the information is presented in the order it happened.

Henry Ford

Henry Ford was born in 1863 in what is now Dearborn, Michigan. He grew up on his family’s farm and went to a one-room school. From an early age he was interested in tools and how things worked. He was especially interested in steam engines. In 1879, he left home and went to nearby Detroit to work as a machinist. He made extra money by repairing and selling watches. He worked for many different companies and became good at operating steam engines.

In 1891, Henry Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company. He became Chief engineer for the company in 1893. This job gave him enough time and money to do experiments with engines.

In 1896, his experiments led to his invention of a self-propelled vehicle, or ‘horseless carriage.’ This was an early type of car, or automobile. It had four wire wheels that looked like bicycle wheels. It had only two forward speeds and could not go backwards. After this, he decided to start his own business making automobiles. The company he started became Ford Motor Company.

In 1908, this company began making the Model T. This automobile, or car, was easy to drive and take care of. It became a huge success. In order to make enough of these cars Henry Ford opened a large factory in Highland Park, Michigan in 1910 By 1918, half of all the cars in the United States were Model Ts. Ford Motor Company continued to grow and grow. It is still a very important company today.

Questions about Henry Ford

What was one reason the Model T was such a success?

Because the car was so successful, what did Henry Ford decide to do?

What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

What made Henry Ford an entrepreneur?

Do you think there are still entrepreneurs in Michigan today?

What goods or services do you think Michigan entrepreneurs are producing today?

A Modern Entrepreneur

Grosse Pointe Woods resident Richard Marks has created an electric low-speed vehicle, EcoV, which he hopes will interest the fleet vehicle market and then the local community.Photo by Amy Salvagno   Source: Va-Va-Voom! 1 July 2009 <http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2008/7-23-08/GF-ECOV.asp>.

A Modern Entrepreneur

Richard Marks was a former General Motors engineer. He is the inventor of the EcoV, an electric low speed

vehicle. In the past few years he has built his own company, based

in Detroit, to manufacture this economical vehicle. The vehicle is pure electric and economical to own and

operate. It is almost maintenance free. It has no emissions, noise or odors. It is designed for city driving and can go 25 miles per

hour. It currently costs just under $10,000.

Source: EcovElectric. 1 July 2009 <http://www.ecovelectric.com/index.html>.

Assessment

List the three types of resources used to produce goods and services.

List two examples of each kind of resource that would be needed to make this Michigan product

______________Resources

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