What happens to the heat energy that reaches Earth from the Sun?

The energy that reaches the Earth’s surface (primarily visible light) is absorbed by the Earth. This increases the temperature of the Earth and then that absorbed energy is released as heat.

What causes the layers of the atmosphere?

The atmosphere is divided into layers based on how the temperature in that layer changes with altitude, the layer’s temperature gradient. The temperature gradient of each layer is different. Most of the important processes of the atmosphere take place in the lowest two layers: the troposphere and the stratosphere.

How is the atmosphere divided into layers?

The atmosphere can be divided into layers based on its temperature, as shown in the figure below. These layers are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere and the thermosphere. A further region, beginning about 500 km above the Earth’s surface, is called the exosphere.

What happens when solar radiation enters Earth’s atmosphere?

Energy released from the Sun is emitted as shortwave light and ultraviolet energy. When it reaches the Earth, some is reflected back to space by clouds, some is absorbed by the atmosphere, and some is absorbed at the Earth’s surface. Shortwave radiation reflected back to space by clouds.

What will happen if Earth doesn’t radiate the heat it received?

Answer: If Earth does not radiate heat Then Earth will become very hot….

In what form is solar energy is radiated from the sun?

electromagnetic waves
Explanation: Solar energy is radiated from the sun in the form of electromagnetic waves of shorter wavelength of 0.2 to 0.4 micrometers. Out of all the solar energy radiations reaching the earth’s atmosphere, 8\% is ultraviolet radiation, 40\% is visible range light and 46\% is by infrared radiation.

How energy from the sun interacts with the layers of the atmosphere?

The atmosphere also interacts with incoming radiation through a process called molecular scattering. Light rays are very small. Huge numbers of small molecules float in the atmosphere. As the light comes from the Sun, these small molecules scatter the light.

Why do different layers of the atmosphere have different temperatures?

The warm air near the surface rises and cool air higher in the troposphere sinks. So air in the troposphere does a lot of mixing. This mixing causes the temperature gradient to vary with time and place. The cold ground cools the air that sits above it, making this low layer of air denser than the air above it.

Which of the following is not a layer of atmosphere?

Lithosphere is not a layer of the earth’s atmosphere. It is the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.

Which of the following does not happen to solar radiation as it passes through the atmosphere quizlet?

Most of the solar energy absorbed by planet Earth and its atmosphere is absorbed by: the Earth’s surface. Which of the following does NOT happen to solar radiation as it passes through the atmosphere? intensification.

What type of radiation enters the atmosphere from the sun?

shortwave radiation
Solar energy enters our atmosphere as shortwave radiation in the form of ultraviolet (UV) rays (the ones that give us sunburn) and visible light. The sun emits shortwave radiation because it is extremely hot and has a lot of energy to give off.

How does Earth radiate heat?

Earth returns an equal amount of energy back to space by reflecting some incoming light and by radiating heat (thermal infrared energy). Most solar energy is absorbed at the surface, while most heat is radiated back to space by the atmosphere.