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Renewable & non-renewable resources
Distinguish between renewable and non-renewable energy and material resources. Review suitability for your learners before teaching.
Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9
Renewable & non-renewable resources
Take your time. Show your thinking.
1. Is wind power captured by wind turbines a renewable or non-renewable energy resource?
2. Why are single-use plastics harmful to marine ecosystems: they persist for centuries and break into microplastics, or they dissolve into oxygen?
3. Is natural gas (mainly methane) trapped in rock layers a renewable or non-renewable resource?
4. What mineral ore is smelted in a blast furnace to produce iron and steel: hematite (iron ore) or halite?
5. Does switching from incandescent bulbs to LED bulbs use less electrical energy for the same brightness (Yes / No)?
6. Is tidal energy generated by the rise and fall of ocean tides a renewable or non-renewable resource?
7. What do we call organic kitchen and garden waste (such as fruit peels and leaves) decomposed into nutrient-rich soil improver: compost or plastic?
8. What device converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductor cells: a photovoltaic solar panel or a diesel generator?
9. Which greenhouse gas is released in large quantities when fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) are burned: carbon dioxide or argon?
10. Is solar energy from sunlight a renewable or non-renewable energy resource?
11. Why does planting coastal mangroves and vegetation help protect islands: roots bind sand and buffer wave erosion, or they increase wave height?
12. What happens when too many fish are caught faster than the population can reproduce: overfishing (stock depletion) or eutrophication?
12 questions · Seed 54 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
View the answer key
Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9
Renewable & non-renewable resources
Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.
1. Is wind power captured by wind turbines a renewable or non-renewable energy resource?
RenewableWind is continuously generated by uneven solar heating of Earth’s atmosphere.
2. Why are single-use plastics harmful to marine ecosystems: they persist for centuries and break into microplastics, or they dissolve into oxygen?
They persist for centuries and break into microplasticsConventional plastics do not biodegrade readily and fragment into harmful microplastics.
3. Is natural gas (mainly methane) trapped in rock layers a renewable or non-renewable resource?
Non-renewableNatural gas is a finite fossil fuel.
4. What mineral ore is smelted in a blast furnace to produce iron and steel: hematite (iron ore) or halite?
Hematite (iron ore)Hematite (Fe₂O₃) is a major iron ore.
5. Does switching from incandescent bulbs to LED bulbs use less electrical energy for the same brightness (Yes / No)?
YesLEDs convert a much higher proportion of electrical energy into light rather than waste heat.
6. Is tidal energy generated by the rise and fall of ocean tides a renewable or non-renewable resource?
RenewableOcean tides are reliably driven by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun.
7. What do we call organic kitchen and garden waste (such as fruit peels and leaves) decomposed into nutrient-rich soil improver: compost or plastic?
CompostComposting recycles organic matter into humus for soil.
8. What device converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductor cells: a photovoltaic solar panel or a diesel generator?
Photovoltaic solar panelPhotovoltaic cells convert light photons directly into electrical current.
9. Which greenhouse gas is released in large quantities when fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) are burned: carbon dioxide or argon?
Carbon dioxideCombustion of carbon-based fuels oxidises carbon into carbon dioxide (CO₂).
10. Is solar energy from sunlight a renewable or non-renewable energy resource?
RenewableSunlight is continuously replenished by the Sun on human timescales.
11. Why does planting coastal mangroves and vegetation help protect islands: roots bind sand and buffer wave erosion, or they increase wave height?
Roots bind sand and buffer wave erosionCoastal vegetation stabilises shorelines and absorbs wave energy.
12. What happens when too many fish are caught faster than the population can reproduce: overfishing (stock depletion) or eutrophication?
Overfishing (stock depletion)Harvesting beyond maximum sustainable yield depletes fish populations.
12 questions · Seed 54 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9
Renewable & non-renewable resources
Take your time. Show your thinking.
1. Is wind power captured by wind turbines a renewable or non-renewable energy resource?
2. Why are single-use plastics harmful to marine ecosystems: they persist for centuries and break into microplastics, or they dissolve into oxygen?
3. Is natural gas (mainly methane) trapped in rock layers a renewable or non-renewable resource?
4. What mineral ore is smelted in a blast furnace to produce iron and steel: hematite (iron ore) or halite?
5. Does switching from incandescent bulbs to LED bulbs use less electrical energy for the same brightness (Yes / No)?
6. Is tidal energy generated by the rise and fall of ocean tides a renewable or non-renewable resource?
7. What do we call organic kitchen and garden waste (such as fruit peels and leaves) decomposed into nutrient-rich soil improver: compost or plastic?
8. What device converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductor cells: a photovoltaic solar panel or a diesel generator?
9. Which greenhouse gas is released in large quantities when fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) are burned: carbon dioxide or argon?
10. Is solar energy from sunlight a renewable or non-renewable energy resource?
11. Why does planting coastal mangroves and vegetation help protect islands: roots bind sand and buffer wave erosion, or they increase wave height?
12. What happens when too many fish are caught faster than the population can reproduce: overfishing (stock depletion) or eutrophication?
12 questions · Seed 54 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9
Renewable & non-renewable resources
Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.
1. Is wind power captured by wind turbines a renewable or non-renewable energy resource?
RenewableWind is continuously generated by uneven solar heating of Earth’s atmosphere.
2. Why are single-use plastics harmful to marine ecosystems: they persist for centuries and break into microplastics, or they dissolve into oxygen?
They persist for centuries and break into microplasticsConventional plastics do not biodegrade readily and fragment into harmful microplastics.
3. Is natural gas (mainly methane) trapped in rock layers a renewable or non-renewable resource?
Non-renewableNatural gas is a finite fossil fuel.
4. What mineral ore is smelted in a blast furnace to produce iron and steel: hematite (iron ore) or halite?
Hematite (iron ore)Hematite (Fe₂O₃) is a major iron ore.
5. Does switching from incandescent bulbs to LED bulbs use less electrical energy for the same brightness (Yes / No)?
YesLEDs convert a much higher proportion of electrical energy into light rather than waste heat.
6. Is tidal energy generated by the rise and fall of ocean tides a renewable or non-renewable resource?
RenewableOcean tides are reliably driven by the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun.
7. What do we call organic kitchen and garden waste (such as fruit peels and leaves) decomposed into nutrient-rich soil improver: compost or plastic?
CompostComposting recycles organic matter into humus for soil.
8. What device converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductor cells: a photovoltaic solar panel or a diesel generator?
Photovoltaic solar panelPhotovoltaic cells convert light photons directly into electrical current.
9. Which greenhouse gas is released in large quantities when fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) are burned: carbon dioxide or argon?
Carbon dioxideCombustion of carbon-based fuels oxidises carbon into carbon dioxide (CO₂).
10. Is solar energy from sunlight a renewable or non-renewable energy resource?
RenewableSunlight is continuously replenished by the Sun on human timescales.
11. Why does planting coastal mangroves and vegetation help protect islands: roots bind sand and buffer wave erosion, or they increase wave height?
Roots bind sand and buffer wave erosionCoastal vegetation stabilises shorelines and absorbs wave energy.
12. What happens when too many fish are caught faster than the population can reproduce: overfishing (stock depletion) or eutrophication?
Overfishing (stock depletion)Harvesting beyond maximum sustainable yield depletes fish populations.
12 questions · Seed 54 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification