Question

What type of resource copper is?
(A) Exhaustible
(B) Non-exhaustible
(C) Potential
(D) National

Answer 1

Hint: Copper is not a renewable resource. It is a non-renewable resource. Once our supplies run out, we won’t have any left.

Complete step by step solution:
Copper-
-Copper is an element with atomic number 29 and is denoted as Cu. It is solid at STP. The exposed surface of pure copper is pinkish-orange in colour. It is a good conductor of heat and electricity. Thus, it is used as a building material and as a constituent of various metal alloys, in electric wirings.
-Naturally, copper occurs in a directly usable metallic form. It has a natural colour other than grey and silver. When exposed to air, copper acquires a reddish tarnish on its surface.
-Copper does not react with water. But it slowly reacts with atmospheric oxygen to form a layer of brown-black copper oxide.
-Most of the copper is obtained from large open-pit mines as copper sulphides.
-Thus, copper is an exhaustible resource. As it is mined out of the earth, once it is finished there will no more.

Therefore, option (A) is correct.

Additional information:
Almost half of the recycled copper scrap is old post-consumer scrap. Worldwide resources of this important and valuable metal are estimated at more than 8 trillion pounds.

Note: Even though we have a large-amounts of reserves and recycling capacity of copper then too once the reserve will come to an end we would be left with no amount of copper. So, copper is an exhaustible resource.
Also, option (D) can never be the correct answer. So, we can ignore this from the start.