Question

What two things does the wavelength of peak of the blackbody

curve tell about an observed object?

a. color and distance
b. temperature and mass
c. temperature and color
d. distance and mass

Answer 1

The correct option is;

c. Temperature and color

Step-by-step explanation:

Based on Wien's Law which can be presented mathematically as follows;

`\lambda _(max) = (0.29 \ cm \ K) / T`

The wavelength of the peak of the blackbody curve tells the temperature and color.

An example is the Sun that has a temperature of 5800 K, hence the peak wavelength is given by
`\lambda _(max) = (0.29 \ cm \ K) / 5800 = 0.00005 \ cm` = 500 nano-meter from which the color can be deduced as 500 nano-meter is the wavelength of yellow light.