UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

Renewable resources are replenished naturally on a human time scale, while non-renewable resources are finite and deplete with extraction. Solar energy is continuously supplied by the Sun and does not run out through human use. Coal, on the other hand, is a fossil fuel formed over millions of years and is exhausted when mined and burned. Thus, pairing solar energy as renewable with coal as non-renewable correctly illustrates the contrast between the two categories.

Option A:
Option A is incorrect because it lists two renewable resources together and does not provide a non-renewable counterpart. Although both solar and wind are renewable, the question asks for a renewable and a non-renewable pair.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect since coal and crude oil are both non-renewable fossil fuels. They do not demonstrate the contrast between resource types that the question seeks.

Option C:
Option C is correct because it combines one clearly renewable source, solar energy, with one clearly non-renewable source, coal. This makes the distinction between resource types easy to understand in the context of sustainable development.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect as natural gas and petroleum are both non-renewable fossil fuels. Like coal and crude oil, they are finite and formed over geological time spans.