Select the arrangement of electromagnetic radiation which starts with the lowest energy and increases to greatest energy.
a) radio, visible, infrared, ultraviolet
b) infrared, visible, ultraviolet, microwave
c) visible, ultraviolet, infrared, gamma rays
d) x-radiation, visible, infrared, microwave
e) microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet

E) microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet

Explanation:

Electromagnetic waves are waves consisting of oscillations of electric and magnetic fields. These fields oscillate in a direction perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the wave, so they are called transverse waves. Electromagnetic waves are the only waves that can travel in a vacuum, since they don't need a medium to propagate.

Electromagnetic waves are classified into 7 different types, according to their different frequency. In order from lowest to highest frequency, we have:

Radio waves

Microwaves

Infrared

Visible light

Ultraviolet

X-rays

Gamma rays

Moreover, for an electromagnetic wave the energy carried is proportional to its frequency:

where h is the Planck constant and f is the frequency. Therefore, the list written above also corresponds to the list of waves from lowest to highest energy. so, the correct answer is

E) microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet

layers of the earth affect the waves and these effects are seen on instruiments such as seimometers