Property, plant and equipment assets are economic resources that have physical substance (tangible), are used in the operations of a business, and are not intended for sale to customers.

Property, plant and equipment assets have the following major characteristics:

• They are acquired for use in operations and not for resale: Because those assets are acquired for use in operations for several years, they are recognized under non-current assets. Otherwise, they would either be reported under merchandise inventory or reported as an expense.
• They are in long-term in nature and usually depreciated: Property, plant and equipment assets provide economic benefit for several years. This means that within the revenue the company earned these assets have contributions. In other words, by using these assets their benefits are consumed. As you remember, the matching principle indicates that the revenues of a period must be matched with the expenses of the same period for calculating the profit/loss of the period. So the cost of the long-lived assets should be divided into their useful lives. This allocation of a long-lived asset’s cost over its useful life is called depreciation. Their whole costs must not be recognized as an expense for the year they are acquired. –
• They possess physical substance: Property, plant and equipment have physical existences. They are also called tangible assets because of this characteristic.

As can also be understood from the information given, “They are acquired for use in operations and not for resale.”, “They possess physical substance.”,  “They are not intended for sale to customers.” and “They are economic resources that have physical substance (tangible)” are correct statements, so the correct answer is D.

The statement “They are in short-term in nature and usually depreciated.” is not correct. They are in long-term in nature and usually depreciated.