Final answer:
The statement is true: greenhouse gases trap energy by being transparent to shortwave solar radiation and absorbing longwave radiation emitted from the Earth, contributing to the greenhouse effect.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that greenhouse gases trap energy because they are transparent to incoming shortwave solar radiation but absorb outgoing longwave radiation emitted from Earth's surface is true. Greenhouse gases allow the shorter wavelengths of solar radiation to pass through, which are then absorbed by the Earth's surface and re-emitted as longer-wavelength infrared radiation. Since these gases are effective at trapping the longer wavelengths of energy, they prevent some of this heat from escaping into space, which results in the warming of the Earth's atmosphere, a process known as the greenhouse effect. The more greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide and methane, the more heat is trapped, leading to an increase in the Earth's surface temperature. This effect acts similarly to the glass of a greenhouse, which allows sunlight in but prevents the escape of heat, hence the term 'greenhouse gases'.