Final answer:
A charted identifier for a feature based on its reflectance of different wavelengths of energy is known as a reflection spectrum. This describes the pattern of light reflected by a substance. It's important in fields such as environmental biology for analyzing energy reflectivity and is used in various scientific studies.
Step-by-step explanation:
A charted identifier for a feature based on its reflectance of different wavelengths of energy is known as a reflection spectrum. This spectrum is used to describe the pattern of light that is reflected off a substance, rather than absorbed or transmitted through it. The reflection spectrum is particularly important in fields such as environmental biology, where it is used to analyze how much energy enters Earth's system through reflectivity of visible light. Substances such as pigments in plants have distinct reflection spectra; for example, chlorophyll appears green because it reflects green light while absorbing other wavelengths.
Graphs that represent these spectra show various wavelengths of light on the horizontal axis, often as wavenumber (cm-1), which indicates the number of waves in a centimeter; and the percentage of light transmittance on the vertical axis, which shows how much light was absorbed at each frequency. Understanding these spectra is crucial for applications ranging from studying plant pigmentation to searching for extraterrestrial life by analyzing the spectrum of light transmitted through a planet's atmosphere.