Question

In the absence of atmosphere:

Options

• Earth would have been very hot during the day

• Very cold at night

• Both Earth would have been very hot during the day & very cold at night

• Neither Earth would have been very hot during the day nor very cold at night

Answer 1

Both Earth would have been very hot during the day & very cold at night

Explanation:

In the absence of the atmosphere, the Earth would experience extreme temperature variations: very hot during the day because there is nothing to block or absorb a significant part of the incoming solar radiation, and very cold at night because there would be no atmosphere to trap the terrestrial radiation (heat) emitted by the Earth and prevent it from escaping into space. The atmosphere acts like a blanket, regulating temperature by absorbing and re-radiating heat, which keeps the Earth warm at night and prevents excessive heating during the day. Without this atmospheric effect, the extreme hot days and cold nights would make life as we know it impossible.