alleryStart learning →Carbon dioxide warms Earth's surface because it absorbs which kind of radiation?
AVisible sunlight
BInfrared radiation
CUltraviolet light
DRadio broadcasts
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. Infrared radiation
1. Sunlight passes through the air, is absorbed by the ground and heats it.
2. The warmed ground radiates that energy back as infrared, or heat, radiation.
3. Carbon dioxide lets visible light through but absorbs infrared strongly.
4. The trapped heat raises the surface temperature until the energy budget balances again.
_Source: OpenStax Astronomy (CC BY 4.0), section 8.4 Life, Chemical Evolution, and Climate Change_
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