SOCIAL SCIENCE. 5th LEVEL.

UNIT 2: THE ECONOMY.

The economy involves transforming products form nature into manufactured
products, and buying and selling products or services.
Raw materials are products that we get from nature. We transform them into
different manufactured products.
Unfortunately, when we use natural resources, we often damage the
environment.

1. What are the three sectors of the economy?

The economy is divided into three sectors: primary, secondary
and tertiary. The primary sector provides raw materials from
nature. Agriculture, forestry, mining and fishing are primary
sector activities. The secondary sector processes
raw materials and provides manufactured
products. These products are manufactured in
factories and workshops. The tertiary sector
provides a variety of services; for example,
transportation services, doctors and teachers.
Recycled products are an important source of raw materials in
todays economy. We can recycle products made from glass, paper and plastic.
We can even recycle clothes and shoes.

2. Whats agriculture?
Agriculture is the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock.
Arable farming produces crops for food and other products. There are two
types of arable farming: dry farming (agricultura de secano) and irrigated
farming (agricultura de regado).

Agricultura de secano y de regado.

La agricultura de secano es aquella en la que los cultivos
slo se riegan cuando llueve. Se necesitan grandes
extensiones de tierra para obtener buenas cosechas.
Los principales cultivos de secano en Espaa son: trigo,
viedos y olivos.

La agricultura de regado aporta agua a los cultivos

mediante diversos sistemas de riego sin tener que esperar
a las lluvias. Gracias a ello, los agricultores pueden
obtener grandes cosechas de campos relativamente
pequeos. Productos tpicos de regado son los tomates,
los melones o las judas.
Livestock farming (ganadera) is the raising of animals for food and non-food
products. There are two types of livestock farming: extensive (extensiva) and
intensive (intensiva).

Ganadera extensiva e intensive.

Ganadera extensiva: Los ganaderos cran su ganado en
campos o pastizales donde los animales se alimentan de las
hierbas y pastos que crecen en ellos. En Espaa, un ejemplo
tpico es la cra del cerdo ibrico.
Ganadera intensiva: Los ganaderos cran su ganado en
establos o habitculos cerrados (gallineros, rediles, etc).
Los animales suelen ser alimentados con piensos que son
producidos muchas veces en fbricas. Un ejemplo tpico
son los establos de vacas lecheras.

3. What other primary sector activities are there?

FISHING: There are two main types of fishing:
coastal and deep-sea.
Coastal fishing is neat the coast. Fishermen use
small boats and traditional methods. They return to
port at the end of the day.
Deep-sea fishing is far from the coast. Fishermen often work for weeks or
months on large ships. These ships have refrigeration systems to keep the fish
cold.
MINING: Mining is the extraction of rocks and minerals from the ground. There
are two types of mines:
a) underground mines, and
b) opencast mines and quarries.
FORESTRY: Forestry is the use of forest to obtain plant products, such as
wood, cork, cellulose and resin. Spains most important forestry product is cork.

4. What secondary sector activities are there?

Los productos elaborados por las industrias del sector secundario pueden
clasificarse en dos tipos:
a) Productos que son utilizados a su vez por otras
industrias como materia prima. Por ejemplo, el acero, que
es utilizado, a su vez, para fabricar coches.
b) Productos que son vendidos directamente a los
consumidores. Por ejemplo, la industria de la alimentacin
procesa productos obtenidos en granjas o procedentes de la
pesca, convirtindolos en productos que se ofrecen
directamente a los consumidores. Por ejemplo, las
conservas de pescado.
ENERGY RESOURCES: Factories need energy.
Some energy comes from renewable sources, such as sunlight,
water or wind. These sources of energy are unlimited.
Some energy comes from non-renewable sources, such as coal,
oil, natural gas and nuclear energy. These sources of energy are
limited.