Complete question:
if the earth's average surface temperature were to increase, the amount of radiation emitted from the earth's surface would __________ and the wavelength of peak emission would shift toward __________ wavelengths.
Answer:
if the earth's average surface temperature were to increase, the amount of radiation emitted from the earth's surface would Increase and the wavelength of peak emission would shift towards Shorter wavelengths.
Step-by-step explanation:
Stefan-Boltzmann law, a fundamental law of physics, explains the relationship between an object's temperature and the amount of radiation that it emits. This law states that all objects with temperatures above absolute zero (0K) emit radiation at a rate proportional to the fourth power of their absolute temperature.
Expressed mathematically as; E = σT⁴
From this formula above, temperature is directly proportional to amount of radiation emitted.
- Thus, if the earth's average surface temperature were to increase, the amount of radiation emitted from the earth's surface would Increase.
Also, Energy of emitted radiation can be related to wavelength in the expression below
E =hc/λ
Where;
E is the energy of the emitted radiation
h is Planck's constant
c is the speed of light
λ is the wavelength of the emitted radiation
From the formula above, Energy of the emitted radiation is inversely proportional to the wavelength of the emitted rays.
- Thus, there would be a shift towards shorter wavelengths.