---
title: "A blackbody radiator is initially at an absolute temperature \\(T_1\\). The solid curve in the graph shows the spectral intensity as a function of wavelength \\(\\lambda\\) for temperature \\(T_1\\), with peak intensity occurring at wavelength \\(\\lambda_1\\). The temperature of the blackbody is then decreased to a new temperature \\(T_2 < T_1\\). Which of the following graphs best represents the new spectral intensity curve (dashed line) relative to the original curve (solid line)?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/117444/"
date_modified: "2026-08-04T06:52:11+00:00"
---

# A blackbody radiator is initially at an absolute temperature \(T_1\). The solid curve in the graph shows the spectral intensity as a function of wavelength \(\lambda\) for temperature \(T_1\), with peak intensity occurring at wavelength \(\lambda_1\). The temperature of the blackbody is then decreased to a new temperature \(T_2 < T_1\). Which of the following graphs best represents the new spectral intensity curve (dashed line) relative to the original curve (solid line)?

A blackbody radiator is initially at an absolute temperature \(T_1\). The solid curve in the graph shows the spectral intensity as a function of wavelength \(\lambda\) for temperature \(T_1\), with peak intensity occurring at wavelength \(\lambda_1\). The temperature of the blackbody is then decreased to a new temperature \(T_2 < T_1\). Which of the following graphs best represents the new spectral intensity curve (dashed line) relative to the original curve (solid line)?

![A graph of spectral intensity on the vertical axis versus wavelength \(\lambda\) on the horizontal axis. A single smooth, asymmetric blackbody radiation curve (solid line) rises steeply from the origin, reaches a peak at wavelength \(\lambda_1\), and decays gradually toward zero at longer wavelengths. The peak position \(\lambda_1\) is marked on the horizontal axis with a vertical dashed reference line. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1785826329-gE23fY.jpg)

- **A.** Graph A
- **B.** Graph B
- **C.** Graph C
- **D.** Graph D

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/117444/*