Natural Resources: Renewable & Nonrenewable — Practice · Grade 9 Science

Chapter: Resources & Human Decisions

What this practice covers

By the end of Natural Resources: Renewable & Nonrenewable you should be able to:

11 questions, multiple choice and written answer, each with a worked explanation.

Vocabulary used: natural resource, renewable resource, nonrenewable resource, fossil fuel.

Problem 1

Which of these is a renewable resource?
  1. Coal
  2. Wind
  3. Natural gas
  4. Copper ore
Answer and explanation

Wind

Wind is continuously produced by uneven heating of Earth's atmosphere, so it's renewable on a human timescale.

Problem 2

Fossil fuels are considered nonrenewable mainly because...
  1. They are found only in a few countries
  2. They take millions of years to form, far slower than we use them
  3. They cannot be burned for energy
  4. They are not found underground
Answer and explanation

They take millions of years to form, far slower than we use them

Fossil fuels form over millions of years, a pace far too slow to keep up with how quickly people use them.

Problem 3

Coal forms from the ancient remains of...
  1. Marine organisms on the seafloor
  2. Swamp plants buried and compressed over time
  3. Volcanic ash
  4. Ocean saltwater
Answer and explanation

Swamp plants buried and compressed over time

Coal comes from ancient swamp and forest plant material buried and transformed by heat and pressure.

Problem 4

Why are natural resources like oil and coal NOT evenly distributed around the world?
  1. Governments choose where to place them
  2. Their locations depend on the specific geologic processes that formed them long ago
  3. They are randomly scattered by ocean currents every year
  4. All countries actually have equal amounts, just at different depths
Answer and explanation

Their locations depend on the specific geologic processes that formed them long ago

Where a resource forms depends on what geologic processes happened at that location in the past, so deposits are unevenly distributed.

Problem 5

A town pumps groundwater from an aquifer faster than rainfall recharges it. Is groundwater still acting as a renewable resource in this situation? Explain.
Answer and explanation

Not really in practice — even though groundwater is naturally renewable, pumping it out faster than it's recharged can drain the aquifer and cause real shortages, so how the resource is managed matters as much as whether it's technically renewable.

Problem 6

A power company wants to reduce its reliance on nonrenewable energy sources. Which change would best accomplish this?
  1. Switching from natural gas power plants to wind turbines and solar panels
  2. Switching from coal to natural gas
  3. Drilling deeper wells into the same oil field
  4. Building a bigger coal storage facility
Answer and explanation

Switching from natural gas power plants to wind turbines and solar panels

Wind and solar are renewable; natural gas is still a fossil fuel — just a different nonrenewable resource.

Problem 7

A forest grows 8 units of wood per year but harvest removes 12. Find the yearly stock change in a simple model. Explain the reasoning in your own words.
Answer and explanation

The stock decreases by 4 units per year despite being renewable.

Change=growth−harvest.

8−12=−4 units/year.

Response criteria

  • Use the stated conditions.
  • Show the evidence or calculation.
  • Explain the conclusion and any stated limitation.

Problem 8

A stock grows 50 units/year and loses 70 to harvest. Find net annual change. Show the reasoning, not just the conclusion.
Hints

Compare use rate with replenishment and ecosystem effects.

Answer and explanation

−20 units/year, before other changes.

Problem 9

Why is fossil fuel nonrenewable on a human planning timescale?
Hints

State what the supplied observations or conditions establish, and separate that from any assumption.

Answer and explanation

Formation takes geological timescales compared with rapid extraction and use.

Problem 10

Impacts can occur before and after the operating stageImpacts can occur before and after the operating stageIllustrative life-cycle impact unitsExtraction20Manufacture + transport15Operation50End-of-life10Total within this boundary = 95; compare alternatives over the same service.
Original illustrative one-metric life-cycle accounting. These values are not a measured product footprint or a combined environmental score. A proper alternative comparison needs the same service and stage coverage, with other impacts evaluated separately.
Interpret the supplied visual model. What is missing if another option is compared using operation-only impact while this one uses the whole life cycle?
Answer and explanation

A matched boundary and service. Include comparable stages or clearly state omissions before interpreting one total as superior.

The bars share one supplied impact metric and boundary. They are not four different units being silently added.

A matched boundary and service. Include comparable stages or clearly state omissions before interpreting one total as superior.

Response criteria

  • Read the labeled quantities, reference frame or objects correctly.
  • Explain the relation between the visual evidence and the mechanism.
  • Keep the drawing’s stated assumptions and limits in the conclusion.

Problem 11

A locally renewable store starts at 200 units, gains 12 units/year and loses 17/year for six years. Find final stock. Explain why the renewable label and a per-use efficiency improvement alone do not guarantee preservation of the store.
Answer and explanation

Net change is −5 units/year, giving −30 over six years and final stock 170. Renewal can be exceeded, and total use depends on quantity of service as well as efficiency; check actual replenishment and withdrawal conditions.

Net change is −5 units/year, giving −30 over six years and final stock 170. Renewal can be exceeded, and total use depends on quantity of service as well as efficiency; check actual replenishment and withdrawal conditions.

Response criteria

  • Use the stated measurements or conditions, with correct units.
  • Connect the result to the physical mechanism or evidence relationship.
  • Identify the assumption, model limit or further evidence requested.

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