Which of the following resources is non-renewable?

Step 1: Analyze the question You are asked to pick the resource that is non-renewable, meaning it cannot be replaced naturally within a human lifetime once it is used up.

Step 2: Explain the concept

• Renewable resources can regenerate or be replenished naturally, either through reproduction or natural cycles. Examples are forests, water, wildlife, and solar energy.
• Non-renewable resources take millions of years to form, so once they are exhausted they are effectively gone. Examples are minerals, crude oil, coal, and natural gas.

Step 3: Evaluate each option

• A. Forest reserve: Renewable. Trees can be replanted and regrow (afforestation and reforestation).
• B. Mineral deposit: Non-renewable. Minerals such as tin, iron ore, limestone, and columbite formed over geological time and cannot be replaced once mined out.
• C. Water: Renewable. The water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation) constantly replenishes it.
• D. Wildlife: Renewable. Animals reproduce and their populations can recover if protected, though they can become extinct if over-hunted.

Step 4: Answer Mineral deposits are the non-renewable resource.

Tip: Ask yourself, "Can it grow back or be replaced naturally?" Living things (forests, wildlife) and cycling resources (water) can. Things dug out of the ground (minerals, fossil fuels) cannot. In exams, "mineral" and "fossil fuel" usually point to non-renewable.