Which option correctly classifies natural resources as renewable or nonrenewable?

• A. Water, air, soil, wildlife, and humans are nonrenewable; fossil fuels and minerals are renewable
• B. All listed resources are renewable
• C. Only water and air are renewable
• D. The renewable resources include water, air, soil, wildlife, and humans; nonrenewables include fossil fuels and minerals

Answer: (D)

Understanding these categories depends on whether a resource can be replenished quickly enough to be used again. Renewable resources are those that continuously cycle or reproduce within a human lifetime—water and air are renewed through the water cycle and atmospheric processes; soil is formed and renewed by weathering and biological activity; wildlife populations can rebound, and humans sustain themselves and reproduce. Nonrenewable resources are finite or take geological ages to form, so they cannot be replenished on a human timescale; fossil fuels and minerals fall into this category.

The option that lists renewable resources as water, air, soil, wildlife, and humans, and nonrenewables as fossil fuels and minerals, matches this distinction exactly. Other options misclassify at least one resource: one claims fossil fuels and minerals are renewable, another says all listed resources are renewable, and another says only water and air are renewable.