IB ESS Topic 7 Student Workbook: Resources (SL/HL, 2026) | PDF with Answer Key

Description

Master Topic 7 of the updated IB Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) course with this comprehensive student workbook, fully aligned to the syllabus for first examinations in 2026.

This workbook helps students build a strong understanding of natural resources, from the concept of natural capital and the multiple values societies assign to it, to the sustainability of global energy systems, and the challenge of managing the solid waste that resource consumption generates. Through guided notes, structured practice activities, exam-style questions, and a complete answer key, students develop the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in IB ESS. Designed for both Standard Level (SL) and Higher Level (HL) students, it provides a clear pathway through the most important concepts, terminology, and assessment objectives in Topic 7.

Whether used in the classroom, for homework, revision, independent study, or exam preparation, this workbook encourages active learning and helps students develop the analytical and evaluation skills required for success in IB ESS.

What You’ll Learn

Topic 7.1: Natural Resources — Uses and Management

Students explore:

• Natural resources as the raw materials and energy sources that societies use and consume, including sunlight, air, water, land, rocks, ecosystems, and living things
• Natural capital as Earth’s stock of natural resources and the distinction between natural capital and the natural income it generates in the form of goods and services such as fish, timber, climate regulation, and flood prevention
• The philosophical implications of framing nature as capital and natural income, and how this relates to anthropocentric and ecocentric worldviews
• Ecosystem services and their life-supporting functions for all organisms, including provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services
• The classification of all resources as finite, and the distinction between renewable and non-renewable resources based on their regeneration rates relative to rates of consumption
• The multiple dimensions of value that natural capital holds, including aesthetic, cultural, economic, environmental, health, intrinsic, social, spiritual, and technological value
• The dynamic nature of natural capital value and how it changes over time as technology, culture, and resource availability evolve, with examples such as coal, lithium, and flint
• The need to manage natural capital to ensure sustainability, with the long-term well-being of ecosystems depending on consumption rates remaining within regeneration limits
• Resource security and how population growth, economic development, and geopolitical factors affect a society’s ability to maintain long-term access to sufficient natural resources
• How diverse economic, sociocultural, political, environmental, geographical, technological, and historical perspectives shape the choices societies make about natural resource use
• Management and intervention strategies, including carbon taxes, subsidies, legislation, and SDG frameworks, that directly influence how societies use natural capital (HL)
• Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs): their purpose, stages from baseline study through post-completion monitoring, and how requirements differ between high-income and low-income countries (HL)
• The conditions under which harvesting or extracting a renewable resource becomes unsustainable, with examples from forestry, fisheries, and water systems (HL)
• Excessive consumption as a driver of resource depletion, environmental degradation, and geopolitical tension, with reference to the principles of SDG 12 on sustainable consumption and production (HL)
• How economic globalization can increase resource supply but simultaneously reduce national resource security through increased interdependence (HL)

Topic 7.2: Energy Sources — Uses and Management

Students investigate:

• Renewable energy sources including wind, solar, tidal, wood, geothermal, and hydropower, and non-renewable sources including fossil fuels and nuclear energy
• Rising global energy consumption driven by population growth and increasing per capita demand, and the dominant role of fossil fuels in meeting that demand
• The varying sustainability of different energy sources, considering environmental costs during both production and end-of-life management phases, for fossil fuels, nuclear power, solar, rare earth elements, and other renewables
• The location-specific advantages and disadvantages of energy sources and how they influence the energy choices of contrasting countries
• The challenge of intermittency in renewable energy production and storage solutions including batteries, pumped hydroelectricity storage (PHS), fuel cells, and thermal storage
• How energy conservation and improvements in energy efficiency can reduce import dependence and strengthen national energy security
• Energy security as a country’s ability to access affordable and reliable energy, and how insecurity can drive geopolitical tensions between nations (HL)
• The global economy’s continued dependence on finite fossil fuel reserves, including coal, oil, and natural gas, and the factors influencing timelines for depletion (HL)
• Nuclear power as a non-renewable, low-carbon energy source, including the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear fission, radioactive waste management, and the risks of nuclear accidents (HL)
• Battery storage at large scale, the role of lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements (REEs) in battery production, and the environmental and sociopolitical consequences of mining these materials (HL)

Topic 7.3: Solid Waste

Students examine:

• How the use of natural resources generates waste that can be classified by source, including domestic, industrial, and agricultural waste, and by type, including e-waste, food waste, and biohazardous materials
• The diverse composition of solid domestic waste (SDW), including paper, cardboard, glass, metal, plastics, organic matter, packaging, construction debris, and clothing
• How the volume and composition of waste vary over time and between societies due to socio-economic, political, environmental, and technological factors
• The environmental and social impacts of waste production, treatment, and management, including cases where impacts are experienced in locations far from where the waste was generated
• The concepts of biodegradability and half-lives as they apply to distinguishing waste that ecosystems can absorb from waste that causes pollution
• Why preventative waste management strategies, including reducing consumption and controlling pollutant release, are more sustainable than restorative strategies such as cleaning up oceanic garbage patches
• The relative advantages and disadvantages of different waste disposal options: landfill, incineration, waste-to-energy, exporting waste, recycling, and composting
• How sustainable waste management can be promoted through taxes, incentives, social policies, legislation, education campaigns, and improved access to disposal facilities
• The principles of a circular economy as a holistic alternative to the linear take-make-dispose model, including designing products for reuse and renewal, cycling materials back into production, and minimizing leakage to the environment

What’s Included

✔ Coverage of all Topic 7 syllabus statements for SL and HL

✔ Content aligned to the updated IB ESS syllabus (first examinations 2026)

✔ Separate sections for SL and HL content

✔ Key vocabulary tables with space for definitions and named examples

✔ Guided notes that mirror IB assessment language and command terms

✔ Structured practice activities including data analysis and case study investigation

✔ Exam-style short-answer and extended-response questions

✔ Critical-thinking opportunities aligned with Assessment Objectives AO2 and AO3

✔ Complete answer key included

Why Students Love This Workbook

Unlike traditional revision notes, this workbook actively engages students in the learning process. The guided activities are designed around the language and command terms used in IB assessments, helping learners build confidence while developing the skills required to analyze, explain, compare, evaluate, and justify environmental concepts.

Students can use the workbook throughout the course or as a focused revision tool before assessments.

Ideal For

• IB Environmental Systems and Societies students
• Standard Level (SL) students
• Higher Level (HL) students
• IB teachers seeking ready-to-use classroom resources
• Homeschool learners following the IB curriculum
• Students preparing for quizzes, tests, and final examinations

Product Details

Format: Digital PDF Download

Course: IB Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS)

Topic: Topic 7 – Natural Resources

Level: SL and HL

Answer Key: Included

Author: Bradley M Kremer

Publisher: IB ESSentials

Syllabus Alignment: First Examinations 2026

Important Information

This resource is independently produced and is not endorsed by or affiliated with the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO).

Your purchase includes a license for individual educational use unless otherwise specified.

Explore additional IB ESS workbooks, revision resources, study guides, and teaching materials at ibessentials.org.