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

Chapter: Resources & Human Decisions

What these drills covers

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

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

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

Problem 1

A renewable resource is one that
  1. never runs out under any use
  2. is replenished on a human timescale
  3. is cheap
  4. 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 2

Which is nonrenewable?
  1. Solar energy
  2. Wind
  3. Coal
  4. Timber from managed forest
Answer and explanation

Coal

Coal forms over hundreds of millions of years, far slower than it is consumed.

Problem 3

A renewable resource can still be depleted if
  1. it is used at all
  2. it is used faster than it is replenished
  3. it is stored
  4. 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.

Problem 4

A reserve holds 240 million tonnes and is used at 8 million tonnes per year. How many years will it last at that rate?
Answer and explanation

30 years

240 / 8 = 30 years at constant use.

Problem 5

An aquifer is recharged at 50 million litres a year and pumped at 80 million. What is the annual shortfall, in million litres?
Answer and explanation

30 million litres

80 − 50 = 30 million litres drawn from storage each year, which cannot continue indefinitely.

Problem 6

Which best describes the limitation of 'reserves divided by current use' as a lifetime estimate?
  1. It is exact
  2. It assumes use stays constant and no new reserves are found
  3. It is always too short
  4. It cannot be calculated
Answer and explanation

It assumes use stays constant and no new reserves are found

Both assumptions are usually false, so the figure is a rough indicator rather than a prediction.

Problem 7

Explain why classifying a resource as renewable does not by itself make its use sustainable.
Answer and explanation

Renewable describes the rate at which a resource is replaced, not the rate at which it is being taken. A fishery or aquifer replenishes, but if extraction exceeds that replenishment the stock falls year on year until it collapses. Sustainability depends on the relationship between use and replacement rate, which has to be measured rather than assumed from the label.

Response criteria

  • State a scientifically accurate conclusion.
  • Show the data, mechanism, or calculation that supports it.
  • Include units, conditions, or limits where relevant.

Problem 8

Describe two costs of a resource that a price does not usually capture.
Answer and explanation

The environmental damage from extraction — habitat loss, water contamination, emissions — is often borne by people other than the buyer and seller, so it does not appear in the price. The cost to future users of a depleted stock is also absent, since the price reflects current scarcity rather than scarcity decades ahead. Both are reasons a resource can look cheap while being expensive overall.

Response criteria

  • State a scientifically accurate conclusion.
  • Show the data, mechanism, or calculation that supports it.
  • Include units, conditions, or limits where relevant.

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