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Natural resources and energy choices practice

Natural resources and energy: practice

You have read the lessons and now want to test whether the reasoning holds on new data.

These eight original questions use invented data, so memory alone will not get you the answer. Write each answer before you open the explanation.

The set covers natural resources and energy choices. You can also build a timed round with the timed original practice session builder.

Questions

Question 1

A forest in Region A regrows a harvested tree in about 25 years. Oil formed over millions of years. Classify both using a stated renewal timescale, and say why the timescale matters.

Answer

Timber is renewable on a human timescale of about 25 years, so regrowth can match harvesting if the cutting is planned. Oil takes millions of years to form, which is far longer than human use, so it is treated as non-renewable.

The timescale matters because it decides whether people can keep using the resource without running it out.

Question 2

A table lists Country M: extracted 300, consumed 410 (thousand tonnes of copper). Is Country M a net supplier or a net user? By how much?

Answer

Consumption is higher than extraction, so M is a net user. The gap is 410 − 300 = 110 thousand tonnes, which must come from imports or stock.

Question 3

A map shows bauxite only on a flat, deeply weathered plateau with heavy rainfall. Give a three-step explanation of the distribution.

Answer

Pattern: bauxite is found only on the plateau. Evidence: the plateau is flat, weathered and receives heavy rain, which suggests strong chemical weathering. Link: bauxite forms when heavy rain leaches other minerals out of rock and leaves aluminium-rich material, so a flat weathered surface where material stays in place suits it.

Question 4

Solar costs RM50 000 to install and RM1 000 a year to run. A generator costs RM15 000 to install and RM9 000 a year to run. Find each total over 6 years and write one comparison sentence.

Answer

Solar: 50 000 + (6 × 1 000) = RM56 000. Generator: 15 000 + (6 × 9 000) = RM69 000.

Solar costs RM35 000 more to install, whereas the generator costs RM8 000 more to run each year, so over 6 years solar is RM13 000 cheaper.

Question 5

A student says “Country T extracts 20 thousand tonnes of oil, so it uses very little oil”. What is wrong with this?

Answer

Extraction is not consumption. Country T may consume far more than 20 and import the rest. The student needs the consumption column before making a statement about use.

Question 6

A table gives hydro, gas and wind each a cost, a reliability score and a carbon output. The table has no cost for wind. What should your comparison do?

Answer

Compare the three on reliability and carbon output, where data exists. For cost, state that wind has no figure, so a cost comparison involving wind is not possible from this evidence.

Question 7

A coal mine in a district closes. Employment data falls from 1 200 jobs to 700 jobs. What percentage of jobs were lost, and what does the data not tell you?

Answer

Jobs lost are 1 200 − 700 = 500. As a percentage: 500 ÷ 1 200 × 100 = 41.7%, about 42%.

The data does not say whether workers found other jobs, so it cannot show the long-term effect on the district.

Question 8

Evaluate this claim: “Wind power is the best energy source.” Use criteria from the lessons.

Answer

The claim has no stated purpose, so it cannot be judged. A supported answer names a purpose, such as supplying a windy coastal village, then compares wind with alternatives on cost, reliability and environmental effect, and notes the missing evidence, for example how steady the wind is.

If you got these wrong

Questions 1 and 5 point to classifying resources using a renewal timescale and extraction versus consumption data. Questions 3 and 6 to 8 need explaining a distribution and comparing energy sources.

Record each miss in the mistake log and paper-error review. To have a teacher go through your working, see online one-to-one Geography tuition.

Common questions

How should I use this practice set?

Cover the answer, write your own in full sentences, then open the answer and compare. Mark each point you missed so you can see whether the gap is reading data or writing the explanation.

Are these real SPM questions?

No. They are original questions written for practice, with invented data. They follow the style of data-based Geography questions but are not copied from any paper.

Should I time myself?

Start without a timer to get the method right. Once you score well, set a limit of about 4 minutes per question to match exam pace.

If the same type of question keeps going wrong, a one-to-one Geography lesson can work on that skill with new data until the method holds under time pressure.

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