Explain how a primary rainbow is formed

What will be an ideal response?


Answer: As sunlight enters a raindrop, it undergoes an initial refraction, with larger wavelengths being refracted less than shorter wavelengths. A small portion of the refracted light hits the back of the drop and is reflected. The reflected light is refracted a second time as it exits the drop at a lower position than when the first refraction occurred. The amount of total refraction is different for each wavelength and the familiar color separation results.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

You might also like to view...

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Usually a parasite does not rob enough energy to kill the host BECAUSE if the host dies, so does the parasite

A) The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid. B) The assertion and the reason are both correct, but the reason is invalid. C) The assertion is correct, but the reason is incorrect. D) The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct. E) Both the assertion and the reason are incorrect.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

The health, environmental, and economic benefits of recycling far outweigh the costs.

Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Technological advances in computer hardware and software

A) have had little effect on our ability to understand and predict the weather B) have had a huge impact on our ability to understand and predict the weather C) occurred long before the landmark achievements of early meteorologists D) are essentially irrelevant to meteorology

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences

Isolated knobs of resistant bedrock that rise up from desert pediment surfaces are:

a. bolsons. b. badlands. c. bajadas. d. inselbergs. e. regional base levels.

Environmental & Atmospheric Sciences