Renewable resource — Science definition
A natural resource that is naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, flowing water, and timber if harvested responsibly.
Where it is taught
- Natural Resources: Renewable & Nonrenewable — Resources & Human Decisions, Earth & Space Science, Grade 9
Questions using renewable resource
Problem 1
- Coal
- Wind
- Natural gas
- 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
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 3
- never runs out under any use
- is replenished on a human timescale
- is cheap
- is found underground
Answer and explanation
is replenished on a human timescale
Renewable means it can be replaced as fast as it is used, which still allows depletion if overused.
Problem 4
- it is used at all
- it is used faster than it is replenished
- it is stored
- it is renewable
Answer and explanation
it is used faster than it is replenished
Groundwater and fish stocks are renewable yet can be exhausted by overuse.