• Which resource can be used up, but is considered renewable because it can replace itself? Geothermal, trees, wind, or copper? Explain.
• What kind of resource is coal?
• Why is petroleum a nonrenewable resource?
• What is the difference between a renewable resource and a nonrenewable resource?
• Is an ocean wave a non-renewable resource? Explain why or why not in one or two sentences.
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1. Trees can be used up, but are considered renewable because they can be replanted and grow back over time.
2. Coal is a nonrenewable resource, as it is formed over millions of years from dead plant matter and cannot be replaced in a short amount of time.
3. Petroleum is a nonrenewable resource because it takes millions of years for natural processes to create it from organic matter, such as plants and animals, and it is being extracted at a rate faster than it can be replenished.
4. The main difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources is that renewable resources can be replaced or replenished within a reasonable amount of time, while nonrenewable resources cannot be easily replaced and are being used up at a faster rate than they can be replenished by natural processes.
5. An ocean wave is not a nonrenewable resource, as waves are continuously generated by wind and tides and can be harnessed for energy without depleting the resource itself.
Is an ocean wave a non-renewable resource? Explain why or why not in one or two sentences.
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