Which example is a renewable resource?

• A. Sunlight
• B. Coal
• C. Natural gas
• D. Oil

Answer: (A)

The main idea is separating resources by how quickly they can come back after we use them. Sunlight is renewable because the sun keeps shining and producing energy day after day, so the supply can be used again and again on human time scales. We can capture that energy with solar panels and store some of it for when the sun isn’t shining, and over time the sun’s energy remains available for essentially billions of years.

In contrast, coal, natural gas, and oil come from ancient plants and organisms that formed over millions of years. We’re burning them faster than they can form, so their supply is finite and will run out long before we can re-create it on a human timescale. That’s why these fossil fuels are nonrenewable.

So, sunlight is the renewable resource here.