Question at position 20 Shortwave sunlight passes through Earth's atmosphere, where it strikes the surface and is converted into longer-wavelength ________ radiation. cosmicmicrowaveinfraredx-ray

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Question restatement: Shortwave sunlight passes through Earth's atmosphere, where it strikes the surface and is converted into longer-wavelength ________ radiation. Options: cosmic, microwave, infrared, x-ray.

Option 1 - cosmic: This corresponds to high-energy radiation coming from outer space, not a typical product of surface heating. Since the surface absorbs solar energy and emits energy at longer wavelengths within the infrared range, cosmic radiation is not the expected consequence of surface heating.

Option 2 - microwave: Microwaves are longer-wavelength radio waves used in communication and cooking; they are not the primary emission from a heated Earth surface. The conversion of sunlight to heat does not predominantly yield microwaves, so this choice is unsupported by basic blackbody-like emission principles.

Option 3 - infrared: Infrared radiation is the common emission produced by objects at typical Earth surface temperatures. When solar energy is absorbed and warms the surface, the object re-radiates energy at longer wavelengths in the infrared portion of the spectrum, consistent with thermal emission.

Option 4 - x-ray: X-rays are high-energy photons associated with very hot or energetic processes (cosmic phenomena, certain high-energy interactions) and are not characteristic of ordinary surface heating by sunlight. The Earth’s surface at solar heating temperatures does not emit primarily as X-rays.

Putting it together, the reasoning aligns with the known behavior of heated matter emitting infrared radiation, whereas the other listed wavelengths do not describe the surface emission in this scenario.

Question at position 20 Shortwave sunlight passes through Earth's atmosphere, where it strikes the surface and is converted into longer-wavelength ________ radiation. cosmicmicrowaveinfraredx-ray

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