What makes the black surface of a playground get warmer on a sunny day than on a cloudy day?

The sunlight heats the playground.
More children play outside when it is sunny.
Clouds absorb all of the heat from the playground.
More heat goes into the black surface on a cloudy day.

3 answers

The black surface of the playground gets warmer on a sunny day than on a cloudy day because black is a good absorber of solar radiation. When the sun shines on the black surface, it is absorbed and converted into heat, causing the surface to warm up. On a cloudy day, the clouds absorb some of the solar radiation, preventing it from reaching the surface of the playground, which causes less heat to be absorbed by the surface. So, it is the absorption of solar radiation that makes the black surface of the playground warmer on a sunny day than on a cloudy day.
The sunlight heats the playground.