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Radiation Budget Quiz Answer Key

 Radiation of energy from the sun.
  1. If the Earth absorbs more solar energy than it radiates back to space, we expect the Earth's temperature to:
    1. remain the same
    2. decrease
    3. increase
  2. If the Earth radiates more energy to space than it absorbs from solar radiation, we expect the Earth's temperature to:
    1. increase
    2. decrease
    3. remain the same
  3. The Earth's radiation budget is in balance when the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the Earth is equal to the amount of radiation emitted by the Earth.
    1. true
    2. false
  4. Which is NOT a type of radiation?
    1. light
    2. Earth
    3. heat
    4. shortwave
    5. longwave
  5. Sunlight is a form of electromagnetic energy.
    1. true
    2. false
  6. The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) was designed to collect information about:
    1. solar energy reaching the Earth
    2. solar energy reflected by the Earth
    3. heat released by the Earth into space
    4. all of the above
  7. When was the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) released into space from the Space Shuttle Challenger?
    1. 1999
    2. 1960
    3. 1984
  8. Satellites can be carried into space by which of the following?
    1. rockets
    2. airplanes
    3. instruments
  9. Missions such as ERBE are important because changes in the Earth's radiation budget may:
    1. cause changes in the Earth's climate
    2. change the amount of solar radiation emitted by the Sun
    3. change the Moon's orbit
  10. Albedo is the fraction of __________ reflected from the Earth back into space.
    1. longwave radiation
    2. shortwave radiation
  11. An albedo of 75% would mean that _________ of incoming sunlight is reflected.
    1. 1/2
    2. 1/4
    3. 3/4
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