Environmental Studies · Physics

Solar Radiation and Energy

926 Questions

Enhance your general science knowledge with these questions on solar radiation and energy. The topics span solar thermal power plants, photovoltaic devices, and the sun's energy output. This material is useful for environmental studies and physics.

Solar energy conversionSun luminosity and compositionAtmospheric reflectionSolar thermal technology

Solar Radiation and Energy Questions

Multiple choice commercial applications management of natural resources unequal distribution of resources protecting our environment rules are for everyone

On the average, about what percentage of the solar energy that strikes the outer atmosphere eventually reaches the earth's surface?

  1. 5%

  2. 15%

  3. 30%

  4. 50%
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Approximately 50 percent of the solar radiation reaching the outer atmosphere is absorbed or reflected by the atmosphere, clouds, and surface, while the rest reaches the Earth's surface.

Multiple choice commercial applications management of natural resources unequal distribution of resources protecting our environment rules are for everyone

What is input of naturally subsidized solar powered ecosystem

  1. 10, 000 to 90, 000kcal/m2per year

  2. 10, 000 to 80, 000kcal/m2per year

  3. 10, 000 to 40, 000kcal/m2per year

  4. 20, 000 to 40, 000kcal/m2per year
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Naturally subsidized solar-powered ecosystems, such as estuaries or certain forests, receive additional energy inputs. The range of 10,000 to 40,000 kcal/m2 per year is a standard estimate for these types of systems.

Multiple choice commercial applications management of natural resources unequal distribution of resources protecting our environment rules are for everyone

Solar cell can be used for sufficient amount of

  1. Storing water

  2. Storing light

  3. Storing sun rays as energy source

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The device which can trap the solar energy and convert the solar energy into an electrical form of energy is called as the solar cell. Solar cells are generally used for the storage of the radiations from the sun in the form of energy resource. These cells are used in the solar panels for the generation of electricity for the street lights. 

Thus, the correct answer is option C. 

Multiple choice commercial applications management of natural resources unequal distribution of resources protecting our environment rules are for everyone

Which technology is used to harvest solar energy from the sun?

  1. Artificial photosynthesis

  2. Photovoltaics

  3. Solar heating

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Solar energy can be harvested through various technologies, including photovoltaics (converting light to electricity), solar heating (thermal), and artificial photosynthesis (research-based chemical energy conversion).

Multiple choice commercial applications management of natural resources unequal distribution of resources protecting our environment rules are for everyone

Charged particles from the sun that travel through space at high speeds are called:

  1. Radiation

  2. The aurora

  3. Solar wind

  4. Solar flares
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Solar wind is a stream of charged particles (primarily electrons and protons) released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, which travels through the solar system.

Multiple choice commercial applications management of natural resources unequal distribution of resources protecting our environment rules are for everyone

Best economic method to harvest the solar energy is

  1. Solar cell

  2. Energy plantation

  3. Cultivation of sugar cane then energy obtain by burning it

  4. Solar cooker
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The economics of terrestrial growth of vegetation for its energy content is far more favourable than other more technically sophisticated methods of large-scale solar energy conversion. The most traditional is to use the ability of plants to convert the suns energy into fuel molecules; this is cheap, deployable at scale, and provides the energy in easily storable form, but its not very efficient and so needs a lot of land.

Multiple choice commercial applications management of natural resources unequal distribution of resources protecting our environment rules are for everyone

Photovoltaic cells are semiconductors of

  1. Silicon

  2. Gallium arsinide

  3. Cadmium telluride

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Photovoltaic cells are used in trapping solar energy. These are made of semiconductors that can lose the electrons when exposed to the sunlight to generate the electric current. The semiconductor material used can be silicon, gallium arsenide, cadmium telluride. Silicon is the most preferred because of its uniform crystalline structure. Cadmium Telluride provides a low-cost alternative that is also highly absorptive of solar energy. Gallium arsenide is used for its resistance to the harmful effects of the radiations. It is generally used for space photovoltaic cells.

Hence, the correct answer is 'All of the above'

Multiple choice commercial applications management of natural resources unequal distribution of resources protecting our environment rules are for everyone

Solar energy can be trapped through

  1. Direct heating

  2. Thermoelectric conversion

  3. Photovoltaic conversion

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Solar energy can be trapped through the following:

A. Direct heating of the solar energy uses pumps and fans to circulate the heat gathered by the solar collectors. It is widely used in water heating system.
B. Thermoelectric conversion converts the solar energy directly to the electrical energy by creating a voltage effect due to the difference in the temperature.
C. Photovoltaic conversion produces electricity through solar energy by maintaining an electron flow. The release of electrons when exposed to sunlight creates an electric current along the path of the electron movement.
Hence, the correct answer is 'All of the above'

Multiple choice physics energy production solar power plant production of electricity from solar energy solar equipment

Solar cell is a device which directly converts _______ into electric energy.

  1. heat energy

  2. mechanical energy

  3. chemical energy

  4. solar energy
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Solar cell is a device which directly converts solar energy into electric energy.
A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electrical device that converts the energy of light(sun)  directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. It is a form of photoelectric cell, defined as a device whose electrical characteristics, such as current, voltage, or resistance, vary when exposed to light. Solar cells are the building blocks of photovoltaic modules, otherwise known as solar panels.

Multiple choice commercial applications water and air and their importance natural resources and their types promotion of renewable resources protecting our environment

Solar energy is 

  1. Cleanest source of energy.

  2. Helpful in photosynthesis.

  3. Renewable source of energy.

  4. All of the above.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Solar power is energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy. Solar energy is the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy source available.
Solar power can be used to generate electricity, it is also used in relatively simple technology to heat water (solar water heaters).

Multiple choice zoology meaning of life energy flow and loss energy flow in a food chain energy flows

Find the incorrect statement about the energy flow through an ecosystem?

  1. Energy is conserved and stays in an ecosystem, to be used by organisms again and again.

  2. Solar radiation is the original energy source for the vast majority of organisms on earth.

  3. Energy flow is one-way, from autotrophs to progressively higher trophic levels.

  4. Energy flow is inefficient; a lot is lost in each transfer from one organism to another.

  5. All solar radiation used in photosynthesis will eventually be lost as heat.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Energy is not conserved in the sense that it stays in an ecosystem; it is continuously lost as heat during each transfer between trophic levels. It must be constantly replenished by the sun.