Question

Which colour of light is scattered the most (maximum) in the atmosphere?
(A) Red
(B) Yellow
(C) Blue
(D) Green

Answer 1

Hint
Sunlight consists of a spectrum of various colours such as red, blue, yellow, green, etc. with different wavelengths. The colour with the shortest wavelength disperses or scatters the most while entering the atmosphere of the earth.

Complete step by step answer
When sunlight is incident on the surface of the earth it undergoes the process of scattering in all directions due to the molecules of dust and water droplets in the atmosphere. The spectrum of visible light consists of various colours with different wavelengths respectively. This scattering phenomenon is referred to as atmospheric scattering and since the electromagnetic field of the incident light waves from the sun generates electric dipole moments in the molecules of the air in the atmosphere, the molecules scatter the incident light in all directions while reaching the surface of the earth. The wavelength of the blue colour in the visible spectrum of the light waves from the sun is shortest in comparison to the other colours mentioned in the question above. Blue colour light gets scattered most in all directions while after entering the atmosphere of the earth because of the shortest wavelength.
Therefore, (C) Blue is the correct answer.

Additional Information
The appearance of the blue colour of the sky is due to this scattering of the blue colour of the spectrum of the sunlight.

Note
The colour of the sky near the sun appears to be red and yellow because of the scattering of blue light by the molecules of air in the atmosphere. This must not be confused with the answer i.e. blue light is scattered the most in the atmosphere.