Question

Near the poles, more energy is reflected back into space than is absorbed. near the poles, more energy is reflected back into space than is absorbed.

a. True
b. False

Answer 1

Correct answer: a) True.

In fact, the soil at the poles consists mainly of snow. Snow has an albedo of 90%: albedo is the fraction of light (and so, of energy) that is reflected back to the space. This means that at the poles, about 90% of the light is reflected back to the space, while only 10% is absorbed.