Question

Direct solar energy is used for
A)Water heating
B)Distillation
C)Drying
D)All of these

Answer 1

Hint: The solar radiation that we can use are either in the form of visible light or infrared waves.
Photosynthesis is an example of uses of direct solar energy.

Complete answer:
Solar energy is the light and heat energy that can be used directly or harnessed via technology. It is a very important source of energy as it is renewable (practically inexhaustible) and very useful. According to its usage it is divided into; (a)Direct and
b)Indirect Solar Energy.

Direct Solar Energy is the heat and light energy that is directly put into use. The light component of the solar energy is used by plants and other photosynthetic organisms to make food. The heat component of the solar energy is used for heating water directly, and also for drying any food or clothing articles. By heating water, we can also perform the process of distillation of water.

Indirect solar energy is the storage or conversion of the direct solar energy into a different form for later or different usage. This indirect solar energy can be the heat energy which is stored or it is concentrated for industrial or commercial applications. Solar energy is also used at power plants to generate electricity from the thermal component of the solar energy. The electricity thus formed is an indirect solar energy.

Another way to generate electricity from solar energy is from its light component. The light photons fall on the solar panels and react with the elements inside, to generate electricity. This is also an example of indirect solar energy.

Hence, the correct answer is option (D)

Note: The solar radiation contains many kinds of electromagnetic waves of various wavelengths.
Out of all the various waves only three kinds reach the earth surface. They are infrared waves, visible light and ultraviolet waves.
Ultraviolet waves that enter the earth are not useful to any living organism. Rather it is lethal and hence, we take precautions to avoid coming in contact with it or reduce its entry in our biosphere.