Download layers of the atmosphere

Name: _________________________
Date: _______________________
LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE
- There are fivenlayers of the atmosphere.
SUN: Source of all the energy on Earth.
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Energy from the sun must travel through the atmosphere before it hits the
surface.
DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES: Different layers of the atmosphere have different
temperatures, because some layers contain greenhouse gases and others do not.
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Which layer contains 90% of all the gases? TROPOSPHERE
TROPOSPHERE
- Contains all weather and the air you breathe !
- The first and most important layer.
- Temperature is highest at the surface of the earth and decreases with altitude.
Name: _________________________
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Date: _______________________
High altitude, lower temperatures
(example: mountains)
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Low altitude, higher temperatures
(example: beach)
- Earth’s surface is the source of heat in the troposphere.
- Rock, soil, and water absorbs the Sun’s light and radiates it back as heat.
- The air density of gases due to gravity causes the temperature to rise.
- Usually, warm air sits on top of cooler air.
- Sometimes there is an inversion and cold air sits below warm air.
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STRATOSPHERE
- SECOND LAYER
- Layer above the troposphere.
- Temperature increases with altitude (Sun)
Thinking Question!!
How is this different than the temperature-altitude relationship in the Troposphere?
Answer:
In the troposphere, the temperature decreases as you go up (increased altitude).
In the stratosphere, the temperature increases as you go up (increased altitude).
Name: _________________________
Date: _______________________
- Air is stable because warmer, less dense air sits over cooler, denser air.
Troposphere
Stratosphere
First layer of the atmosphere
Second layer of the atmosphere.
- The pilot says, “We are no at our cruising altitude of 30,000 feet.” Why do planes fly so
high in the air?
Answer: The plane enters the stratosphere layer. Fuel costs are lower because
there is less friction due to less density of molecules. There is also less
turbulence.
The Ozone (O3) Layer:
- Inside the stratosphere.
- Solar energy splits an O2 molecule… oxygen atom then combines with O2  O3.
* Ozone gas absorbs harmful UV radiation!
Ozone Layer Depletion
* Man-made chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were used a lot in the past to keep things
cold and to make foam and soaps…
* But CFCs break apart and destroy ozone molecules.
MESOSPHERE
Name: _________________________
Date: _______________________
- MIDDLE (third) layer of the atmosphere
- Temperature decreases with altitude

Heat is from the stratosphere.
- Extremely low density of molecules
- The pressure is so low that liquids would boil at normal body temperature.
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Your blood would boil without a space suit!
Thinking Question!
If pressure decreases with altitude…and your blood would boil in the mesosphere….
Does water boil faster in the mountains or at sea level?
Answer: Mountains
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THERMOSPHERE
- FOURTH layer of atmosphere from the surface of the earth.
- Temperature increases with increasing altitude.
- Very low density of molecules
Video: Mysteries of the Sun: Ionosphere, Thermosphere, and Mesosphere
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EXOSPHERE
 (500 km to outer space)
 Outer layer of the atmosphere.