Which of the following is a non-renewable natural resources?

1. Analyze the question The question asks which resource is non-renewable. A non-renewable resource cannot be replaced within a human lifetime once used up. It takes millions of years to form, so it is finite.

2. Explain the concept

• Renewable resources can regrow or replenish naturally within a reasonable time. Examples are crops, trees, fish, water and solar energy.
• Non-renewable resources are formed over geological time. Once extracted and used, they are effectively gone. Examples are coal, crude oil, natural gas, tin, columbite and limestone.

3. Go through the options

• A. Rubber: It is tapped from rubber trees, which can be replanted and grow again. Renewable.
• B. Oil palm: It is a tree crop that can be replanted and harvested year after year. Renewable.
• C. Coal: It formed from buried plant matter compressed over millions of years. Once mined and burned, it cannot be replaced in any useful timeframe. Non-renewable.
• D. Cocoa: It is a tree crop that is replanted and harvested regularly. Renewable.

4. Answer Only coal is a mineral fuel formed over geological time, so the correct option is C. Coal.

5. Exam tip Ask yourself: "Can it be planted or bred again?" If yes (rubber, oil palm, cocoa, fish, timber), it is renewable. If you have to dig it out of the ground (coal, crude oil, tin, iron ore), it is non-renewable. In Nigeria's economy, cash crops like cocoa and oil palm are agricultural, while coal (Enugu) and crude oil (Niger Delta) are mineral resources.