1. Section 1: Atmospheric Basics
Energy is transferred throughout Earth’s atmosphere. K
What I Know W
What I Want to Find Out L
What I Learned

2. Essential Questions
What is the gas and particle composition of the atmosphere?
What are the five layers of the atmosphere?
How is energy transferred in the atmosphere?
Atmospheric Basics
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3. Vocabulary Review New atmosphere troposphere stratosphere mesosphere
thermosphere
exosphere
radiation
conduction
convection
Atmospheric Basics
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4. Atmospheric Composition
Air is a combination of gases, such as nitrogen and oxygen, and particles, such as dust, water droplets, and ice crystals.
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Atmospheric Basics

5. Atmospheric Composition
Permanent atmospheric gases
Earth’s atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen (78 percent) and oxygen (21 percent).
The amounts of nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere are fairly constant over time.
Atmospheric Basics
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6. Atmospheric Composition Variable atmospheric gases
The concentrations of some atmospheric gases are not as constant over time as the concentrations of nitrogen and oxygen.
The concentration of water vapor in the atmosphere varies with the seasons, with the altitude of a particular mass of air, and with the properties of the surface beneath the air.
During the past 150 years, the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased, due primarily to the burning of fossil fuels.
Atmospheric Basics
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7. Atmospheric Composition
Variable atmospheric gases
Molecules of ozone are formed by the addition of an oxygen atom to an oxygen molecule.
Atmospheric Basics
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8. Atmospheric Composition
Variable atmospheric gases
The ozone layer blocks harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching Earth’s surface.
Atmospheric Basics
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9. Atmospheric Composition
Atmospheric particles
Earth’s atmosphere contains variable amounts of solids in the form of tiny particles, such as dust, salt, and ice.
Atmospheric Basics
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10. Atmospheric Layers
The atmosphere is classified into five different layers: the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere.
Atmospheric Basics
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11. Atmospheric Layers Troposphere
The layer closest to Earth’s surface, the troposphere, contains most of the mass of the atmosphere and is where weather occurs.
In the troposphere, air temperature decreases as altitude increases. The tropopause is the altitude at which the temperature stops decreasing.
Atmospheric Basics
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12. Atmospheric Layers Stratosphere
Above the tropopause is the stratosphere, a layer in which the air temperature mainly increases with altitude and which contains the ozone layer.
At the stratopause, air temperature stops increasing with altitude.
Atmospheric Basics
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13. Atmospheric Layers Mesosphere
Above the stratopause is the mesosphere, in which air temperature decreases with altitude.
Temperatures stop decreasing with altitude at the mesopause.
Atmospheric Basics
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14. Atmospheric Layers Thermosphere
The thermosphere is the layer above the mesopause and contains the ionosphere.
Atmospheric Basics
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15. Atmospheric Layers Exosphere
The exosphere is the outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere and can be thought of as the transitional region between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
Atmospheric Basics
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16. Add link to Interactive Table from p. 284 here.
Components of the Atmosphere
Concepts In Motion
FPO
Add link to Interactive Table from p. 284 here.
Atmospheric Basics
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17. Visualizing the Layers of the Atmosphere
Earth’s atmosphere is made up of five layers. Each layer is unique in composition and temperature.
Atmospheric Basics
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18. Add link to Interactive Table from p. 285 here.
Visualizing the Layers of the Atmosphere
Concepts In Motion
FPO
Add link to Interactive Table from p. 285 here.
Atmospheric Basics
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19. Energy Transfer in the Atmosphere
The total energy of the particles in an object due to their random motion is called thermal energy.
Atmospheric Basics
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20. Energy Transfer in the Atmosphere
Radiation
Radiation is the transfer of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves.
Thermal energy is transferred from the Sun to Earth by radiation.
Atmospheric Basics
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21. Energy Transfer in the Atmosphere
Radiation
Incoming solar radiation is either reflected back into space or absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere or its surface.
Atmospheric Basics
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22. Energy Transfer in the Atmosphere
Radiation
The rate of absorption for any particular area varies depending on the physical characteristics of the area and the amount of solar radiation it receives.
Atmospheric Basics
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23. Energy Transfer in the Atmosphere
Conduction
Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy between objects when their atoms or molecules collide.
Atmospheric Basics
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24. Energy Transfer in the Atmosphere
Convection
Convection is the transfer of thermal energy by the movement of heated material from one place to another.
Atmospheric Basics
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25. Add link to Animation from p. 288 here.
Energy Transfer
Concepts In Motion
FPO
Add link to Animation from p. 288 here.
Atmospheric Basics
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26. Review Essential Questions Vocabulary
What is the gas and particle composition of the atmosphere?
What are the five layers of the atmosphere?
How is energy transferred in the atmosphere?
Vocabulary
troposphere
stratosphere
mesosphere
thermosphere
exosphere
radiation
conduction
convection
Atmospheric Basics
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