Question:easy

Which of the following common natural surfaces on the Earth have highest albedo?

Show Hint

Albedo is the fraction of incoming solar radiation that a surface reflects back.
Updated On: Jun 16, 2026
  • Dry soil
  • Clear water
  • Needle leaf vegetation
  • Snow and Ice
Show Solution

The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Recall what albedo means.
Albedo is simply how much sunlight a surface bounces back instead of soaking it up. We write it as a fraction or a percentage.

Step 2: Link colour to albedo.
A bright white surface throws back most of the light, so it has a high albedo. A dark surface drinks in the light, so it has a low albedo.

Step 3: Look at the dark options.
Clear water, dry soil and needle leaf vegetation all look fairly dark, so they reflect little and have low albedo.

Step 4: Look at the bright option.
Snow and ice are dazzling white. They send back a very large part of the sunlight that hits them.

Step 5: Compare the values.
Fresh snow can reflect 80 to 90 percent of sunlight, far more than soil, water or leaves.

Step 6: Conclusion.
Hence snow and ice have the highest albedo among the listed natural surfaces.
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