Solar Energy Questions and Answers – Sun, Earth Radiation Spectrums – 1

This set of Solar Energy Multiple Choice Questions & Answers (MCQs) focuses on “Sun, Earth Radiation Spectrums – 1”.

1. What is solar radiation?
a) Energy radiated from the sun in all directions
b) Energy radiated from earth in all directions
c) Radiation travelling in space
d) Energy radiated from sun that travels in ether
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: Solar radiation is the energy radiated from sun in all directions. Energy radiated from earth is not solar radiation. Any random radiation traveling in space is called cosmic rays.

2. What are three relevant bands of solar radiation?
a) UV, infrared and far infrared
b) UV, visible and infrared
c) Ultrasonic, infrared and visible
d) UV, ultrasonic and near infrared
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: The three relevant bands of solar radiation are ultraviolet (UV), infrared and visible bands. Far infrared and near infrared are components of infrared. Ultrasonic is related to sound waves.

3. Which two bands of solar radiation are majority in the total solar radiation reaching earth?
a) UV and visible
b) Visible and ultrasonic
c) Visible and infrared
d) Infrared and UV
View Answer

Answer: c
Explanation: Infrared and UV are the major components of the total solar radiation reaching earth. Infrared radiation makes up 49.4% and visible light makes up 42.3%. Only 8% of the total radiation is in the UV band.
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4. Which of the following affects the amount of solar radiation received by a location or water body?
a) Shape of the water body
b) Time at night
c) Rotational speed of earth
d) Altitude and latitude
View Answer

Answer: d
Explanation: A variety of factors affect the amount of solar radiation received by a location or water body. Some of them are altitude and latitude of the location, cloud cover over the location and the time of day. No solar radiation is received at night. Rotational speed of earth is constant and doesn’t affect the amount of solar radiation received.

5. What is direct solar radiation?
a) Solar radiation directly received by earth’s surface from sun
b) Cosmic radiation directly received by earth’s surface
c) Solar radiation received by earth’s surface after reflection
d) Cosmic radiation received by earth’s surface after reflection
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: Direct solar radiation is solar radiation directly received by earth’s surface from sun. It is called direct because no scattering or reflection occurs. Cosmic radiation is not same solar radiation.

6. What is indirect solar radiation?
a) Solar radiation directly received by earth’s surface from sun
b) Solar radiation received by earth’s surface after scattering
c) Cosmic radiation directly received by earth’s surface
d) Cosmic radiation received by earth’s surface after reflection
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: Indirect solar radiation is solar radiation received by earth’s surface after scattering or reflection. It is called indirect because the incident radiation is not directly received by earth’s surface. Every cosmic radiation need be radiation from sun.

7. What type of radiation does earth emit?
a) UV
b) Visible
c) Infrared
d) Longitudinal
View Answer

Answer: c
Explanation: Earth emits infrared radiation. This is typically called as outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR) of wavelength between 3 and 100um. They are also called as thermal radiation.
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8. What is the electromagnetic spectrum?
a) Radiation spectrum consisting only of UV and visible rays
b) All rays falling in the category of infrared and UV rays
c) All rays falling in the category of gamma and x-rays
d) Radiation spectrum encompassing all types of radiation
View Answer

Answer: d
Explanation: As the name suggests, electromagnetic spectrum is a term used to define all types of existing radiation. It ranges from gamma rays to radio waves. Solar radiation received by earth is just a small part of the spectrum.

9. Which of the following type of UV radiation inhibits photosynthetic reaction in phytoplankton?
a) UV-A
b) UV-C
c) Infrared
d) Gamma rays
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: UV-A and UV-B radiation inhibit photosynthetic reaction in phytoplankton. Infrared and gamma rays are not the types of UV radiation.
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10. Which of the following is responsible for thermal energy?
a) UV
b) Infrared
c) Gamma
d) UV-A
View Answer

Answer: b
Explanation: Infrared radiation is responsible for thermal and heat energy. They lie on the opposite side of the spectrum from ultraviolet light. This radiation has a wavelength greater than 700nm.

11. How do infrared radiation cause heat?
a) By exciting neutrons of the substance that absorb them
b) By de-exciting electrons of the substance that absorb them
c) By exciting electrons of the substance that absorb them
d) By exciting protons of the substance that absorb them
View Answer

Answer: c
Explanation: Infrared radiation cause heat by exciting electrons. When they are absorbed by substances, they interact and excite electrons by transferring energy. This leads to heat as the atom (or electron) is said to be in excited state.

12. Why are surfaces of water bodies warmer than the depths?
a) Because water does not absorb UV radiation
b) Because water does not absorb thermal radiation
c) Because water absorbs visible radiation
d) Because water absorbs thermal radiation
View Answer

Answer: d
Explanation: Surfaces of water bodies are warmer than the depths. This is because most of the infrared radiation is absorbed in the first meter of the water’s surface. Hence, they don’t make it to the depths.

13. What is photosynthetically active radiation (PAR)?
a) Radiation best suited for photosynthesis
b) All radiation in which photosynthesis occurs
c) Radiation in which photosynthesis does not occur
d) Radiation which deactivates the ongoing photosynthesis
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is the radiation best suited for photosynthesis. It is basically wavelength range in which photosynthesis occurs with ease. This range is between 400nm and 700nm – visible range.

14. UV-A, UV-B and UV-C are three wavelength ranges of ultraviolet radiation.
a) True
b) False
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: UV-A, UV-B and UV-C are three wavelength ranges of ultraviolet radiation. These wavelengths can directly affect the DNA of water inhabitants as well as harmful photochemicals.

15. Energy of the wavelength increases with frequency and decreases with the size of wavelength.
a) True
b) False
View Answer

Answer: a
Explanation: Energy of the wavelength increases with frequency and decreases with the size of wavelength. The more energy a wavelength has, the easier it is to disrupt the molecule that absorbs it.

Sanfoundry Global Education & Learning Series – Solar Energy.

To practice all areas of Solar Energy, here is complete set of 1000+ Multiple Choice Questions and Answers.

If you find a mistake in question / option / answer, kindly take a screenshot and email to [email protected]

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Manish Bhojasia - Founder & CTO at Sanfoundry
Manish Bhojasia, a technology veteran with 20+ years @ Cisco & Wipro, is Founder and CTO at Sanfoundry. He lives in Bangalore, and focuses on development of Linux Kernel, SAN Technologies, Advanced C, Data Structures & Alogrithms. Stay connected with him at LinkedIn.

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