What Are Resources? How Are They Used? Unit 1 Lesson 3

What Are Resources? The resources used to make goods and to have services are called factors of production. Some of the factors of production or natural resources, labor, and capital resources. Resources are all the materials that producers use to make goods and to provide services. Resources are also the materials and people businesses need to function.

What Are Resources? Work can be defined by either physically doing something or by mentally creating something. Mixing resources like material resources and human resources is necessary to make the American economic system work well. Example of physical work would be working at an automobile plant making cars. Example of mental work would be drawing or designing the car before it is built.

Three Classes of Resources 1st Class of Resource Natural resources consists of things in nature that are needed to produce goods and services. Examples of this are forests, oil, water, and farmland. The US has many of these resources but there are resources that need to be imported like oil, certain minerals and natural rubber.

Three Classes of Resources Natural resources can become short in supply. This is due to several reasons: Using up the resources without replanting them (like trees). Polluting or making it dirty like water and once done very difficult to make clean again. Using up the resource when it takes a long time to create more like oil or coal.

Three Classes of Resources 2nd Class of Resources Labor is the work that people do or goods they produce. The amount of goods and services a work or workers can produce in a given time is known as productivity. When a person, country or region works on making one part of an item this is known as specialization. Labor is divided between workers so that the job is completed as quick as possible and this is division of labor. What else makes life easier and jobs quicker?

Three Classes of Resources Over the years some of the labor that consists of unskilled workers and a lot of repetition has been replaced in many factories with machines. What is this invented and who invented it? What did that do to the American work industry? How does that still affect America?

Three Classes of Resources 3rd Class of Resources Capital refers to the actual items and materials needed for production. Another type of capital is called entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is when a person is able to start a new business or improve and old one. A manager is the person used to make the business run smoothly and make important decisions.

Three Classes of Resources One of the largest pieces for a business to start is having monetary capital. Monetary capital is just the money that a business needs and has to get the business off and running. A business owner needs money to rent/buy a place to have the business, get supplies, get permits, hire workers, pay utilities, etc. What can a business do to get more capital so they can start their business?