Question

1.Visual Check (458) Do tires usually absorb, transmit, or reflect light waves? Explain y
our answer.

Answer 1

Tires usually absorb light. Most tires are made of dark rubber loaded with carbon black, which strongly absorbs visible wavelengths, so very little light is transmitted through the material (tires are opaque) and only a small fraction is reflected. The absorbed light is converted to heat, which is why tires warm up in sunlight. (You can still see some diffuse/specular reflections from the tread surface or shiny sidewalls, but absorption dominates.)