Formation of Earth's Resources

True or False: Most nonrenewable resources have a cycle in place that replaces them during the human lifespan.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Renewable resources (not nonrenewable) are likely to have a cycle in place that replaces them during the human lifespan.

Which question would most likely be answered upon finding this skeletal fossil?

• What type of food did the organism eat?

• What type of skin covering did the organism have?

• At what rate did the organism's heart beat?

• How did the animal sound?

Answer explanation

The soft parts of the dinosaur's body would have decayed a long time time ago, leaving only hard parts like bones and teeth. We can get an idea about the animal's diet by examining the teeth.

Which of the following is not classified as a fossil fuel?

• coal

• natural gas

• oil/petroleum

• ethanol

Answer explanation

Coal, crude oil/petroleum, and natural gas are the three types of fossil fuels.

Ethanol comes from a corn plant, which is renewable.

In which data table are natural resources correctly classified?

• 
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• 
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Answer explanation

Coal, natural gas, and crude oil/petroleum are the three fossil fuels. They take millions of years to be created.

Water and wood have cycles in place and are considered renewable.

Solar energy is an alternative energy resource and is considered renewable. We should have this resource available for another 4-5 billion years.

Fossil fuels are classified as -

• renewable resources

• alternative resources

• nonrenewable resources

• inexhaustible resources

Answer explanation

They are nonrenewable because it will take millions of years to replace them, longer than humans can wait.

In the formation of sedimentary rock, pieces of rock are moved more easily after being broken into smaller pieces. The movement of the rock is known as -

• erosion

• weathering

• deposition

• compaction

Answer explanation

Erosion is the transportation/movement of small pieces of weathered rock known as sediment.

Ethanol is a fuel that is obtained by pressing the oil from a certain species of corn, so it would be best classified as which type of resource?

• nonrenewable resource

• renewable resource

• unclassified resource

• manmade resource

Answer explanation

Since ethanol comes from a corn plant, seeds can be replanted during the human lifespan to create more of it. Therefore, it is not a fossil fuel or nonrenewable.

What is an advantage of fossil fuels?

• they pollute the environment when they are burned

• they take millions of years to be formed

• they are limited in supply

• they burn efficiently

Answer explanation

An "advantage" is something good or positive about fossil fuels. They are widely used because they can be burned easily, which is an advantage.

Which of these is not a renewable resource?

• wind produced by uneven heating of the Earth by the Sun

• water from a lake

• wood from cutting down trees

• natural gas pumped from beneath Earth's surface

Answer explanation

Natural gas is not renewable because it takes millions of years to form.

Which of these resources would be best classified with petroleum/crude oil?

• ethanol (corn oil)

• solar energy

• wind

• coal

Answer explanation

Coal would be the best resource to classify with petroleum/crude oil because they are both fossil fuels that take millions of years to form.

They are both considered nonrenewable resources.