Earth Science Regents Practice Exam

When light strikes a dark, rough surface, the energy of the light is primarily absorbed. Dark surfaces have a high absorbance, meaning they take in most of the light that hits them instead of reflecting it or allowing it to pass through. This absorption of light energy is what causes dark surfaces to warm up more quickly than light-colored surfaces. Rough surfaces can also scatter some of the light due to their texture, but the main interaction with the light is absorption, which is the key reason why such surfaces heat up as they take in energy. Hence, the option that states the energy is absorbed is accurate and reflects the behavior of light on dark, rough materials.