LEARNING GOAL I will describe the different layers of Earth’s atmosphere.

READING: “What’s in the Air” page 6

Where’s the Air?

WORD BANK Compression- When air is forced into a smaller space. Pressure- compressed molecules pushing back with a force equal to the force that compressed it.

Matter- the stuff everything is made of. WORD BANK Matter- the stuff everything is made of. Mass- the amount of matter in an object measured in grams.

READING: “A Thin Blue Veil” page 8

Air Observations Where is the atmosphere? Surrounding Earth Can you see the atmosphere in the image of Earth taken from the shuttle? White and orange layer above Earth’s surface.

Air Observations What structures can you see in the atmosphere? Black shapes, which are clouds Why can’t you see the atmosphere in the image taken from space? The atmosphere is so thin it is not visible from far away.

ATMOSPHERE Earth is surrounded by a layer of air. The layer of air is called Earth’s atmosphere. The atmosphere lies between Earth’s surface and the vastness of space. We terrestrial animals live most of our lives at the bottom of the atmosphere, surrounded by the invisible mixture of gases called air.

ATMOSPHERE POSTER! 

ATMOSPHERE Scientists have described Earth’s atmosphere in terms of several different layers based on the properties of the atmosphere at different elevations.

TROPOSPHERE The lowest layer of the atmosphere is called the troposphere. Most of Earth’s air is found here, and Earth’s weather happens in the troposphere.

STRATOSPHERE The layer above the troposphere is the stratosphere. You may have heard of the ozone layer. The ozone layer is found in the stratosphere.

MESOSPHERE The mesosphere is above the stratosphere. This is the layer in which meteors burn up to create shooting stars.

THERMOSPHERE The thermosphere is next. Scientists don’t know very much about the thermosphere. There isn’t much air in the thermosphere.

EXOSPHERE The layer farthest away from Earth’s surface is the exosphere. It is a very tall layer, but it contains very little air. It is the transition layer between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.

TROPOSPHERE POSTER

TROPOSPHERE The layer of the atmosphere that extends from Earth’s surface up to about 10-24km is the troposphere. This poster is an enlarged view of the small layer clear down here at the bottom of the atmosphere poster.

TROPOSPHERE The troposphere represents only about 2% of the height of the atmosphere, but about 85% of Earth’s air is found here. This is the most complex part of the atmosphere, and a lot of activity takes place here.

“Elevator to Space” ON CD-ROM

READING: “A Thin Blue Veil” page 8

The atmosphere is the layer of gases (air) surrounding earth. The air gets thinner (less concentrated) as the distance from Earth’s surface increases. The types of gas remain mostly the same; the amount of each kind can vary with altitude. Temperature generally decreases as altitude increases, although it rises in parts of the stratosphere and in the thermosphere. The layer of atmosphere that is the greatest interest is the troposphere because that is where clouds, wind, rain, and other types of weather happen. The gases found in the atmosphere are nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, hydrogen, helium, and ozone. Carbon Dioxide and water vapor are found only in the troposphere.

Atmosphere- the layer of air that surrounds Earth. WORD BANK Atmosphere- the layer of air that surrounds Earth. Troposphere- the lowest layer of atmosphere. Most of Earth’s air is here. Stratosphere- the layer above the troposphere, ozone is here.

Mesosphere- above the stratosphere, shooting stars  WORD BANK Mesosphere- above the stratosphere, shooting stars  Thermosphere- above the mesosphere, don’t know much about this one. Exosphere- farthest away from Earth’s surface, tallest and has little air.