Final answer:
Sunlight is considered to be scattered when the light bouncing off an object moves more backwards than forwards (b). This is in contrast to reflection which occurs on very smooth surfaces like mirrors, causing reflected light to move in one direction.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sunlight is scattered when more of the light striking an object bounces backwards than forwards. When sunlight or any other form of light hits a rough surface, this scattering effect causes the light to spread out in different directions. This concept is different from reflection, which occurs when light bounces from a very smooth surface, such as a mirror, and all the reflected rays move in the same direction. It is also important to distinguish scattering from refraction, which is when light is bent as it travels from one medium to another, or from absorption, which occurs when light is taken in and not reflected or transmitted by the material.
In terms of perfect blackbody models, absorptive surfaces more closely represent this idealistic model since they absorb all incoming radiation without reflecting it. Moreover, when considering the natural spreading of light beams, it is diffracted light that causes beams to spread out rather than being perfectly parallel.