The student studying nonrenewable resources could be studying coal, which is a solid fossil fuel that is a nonrenewable resource due to its slow formation over millions of years compared to its rapid consumption. Therefore, option C is correct.
- A student who is studying nonrenewable resources might be examining natural resources like coal, which exist in a fixed amount on Earth and cannot be quickly replenished by natural processes.
- Unlike renewable resources, nonrenewable resources such as fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and nuclear power sources (like uranium) are consumed much faster than they can be produced by nature.
Specifically, coal is a solid fossil fuel formed over millions of years through the decomposition of plant material, and we are depleting our coal reserves much more rapidly than they are naturally recreated.