1. The Atmosphere

2. Earth Sphere’s Quiz
Grab your clickers and your SIN be seated and quietly wait for quiz to begin.
After you have completed the quiz, open your SIN to the next blank page title and title it Atmosphere Virtual Lab
Grab a laptop.
Log on to Think Central and complete Atmosphere Virtual Lab
Answer the following questions in your SIN as you complete the lab

3. Atmosphere Virtual Lab Questions
How thick is Earth’s atmosphere?
Where is most of the molecules found?
Why do we need the atmosphere?
Where does Earth’s weather occur?
Where is the ozone layer?
How does the mesosphere protect earth?
Where do auroras occur?
Why is temperature used to name layers?

4. OBJECTIVES
Describe how the composition and structure of the atmosphere that allows it to protect life on Earth and insulate the planet.

5. MATCH Mesophere Stratosphere Thermosphere troposphere
Where most of the weather occurs, lowest layer, temperature decreases
Where the ozone layer is located, temperature increases
The coldest layer of the atmosphere, burns up meteors
Outermost layer increase in temperature

6. 1. Atmosphere
The ATMOSPHERE is important for sustaining life on Earth
Definition: the thin layer of gases that surround the Earth
Weather is the condition of Earth’s atmosphere at any given time or place

7. 2. What gases are in our atmosphere?
Oxygen (O2)makes up only about 21% of the atmosphere
Nitrogen (N2) makes up about 78% of the atmosphere
There is less than 1% of other gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
argon
CO2
neon
methane
krypton
hydrogen

8. 3. What are the layers of our atmosphere?
Thermosphere
The uppermost layer of the atmosphere. The thermosphere get its name because of the extreme temperature change.
The temperature increases or goes up as the altitude increases.
This is where the northern lights occur.
The international space station orbits in this layer.
Can get up to 1800 degree F.

9. 3. What are the layers of our atmosphere?
Mesosphere
Temperature decreases as the altitude increases.
Coldest layer of the atmosphere
The mesosphere is the third layer on the atmosphere.
This layer is where meteoroids burn up because of friction with the air molecules. ( Think M for Meteors)

10. 3. What are the layers of our atmosphere?
The Stratosphere
Temperature increases as altitude increases.
This heat is caused by UV light that is absorbed by the ozone layer. The ozone layer acts as a shield.
Ozone is formed when three oxygen atoms bond together.
` It is located in the lower part of the stratosphere.

11. 3. What are the layers of our atmosphere?
Troposphere
Temperatures decreases as you go higher in altitude.
This is the layer we breathe.
Most of Earth’s weather happens here.
It reaches about 7 miles above Earth’s surface,
Layers planes fly in most of the time
Birds fly in this layer
Clouds

12. Summary of Temperature changes
Thermosphere
Increase
Mesosphere
decreases
Stratosphere
increases
Troposphere

13. 6. Air Has Mass
There is lower AIR PRESSURE at high elevations. The air is THINNER
There is higher AIR PRESSURE at sea level. The air is denser.
This is due to gravity.
Example of a place with High air pressure: beach in Florida
Example of a place with low air pressure: mountains in Colorado

14. Air pressure Animation
Altitude Animation:

15. 4.The Greenhouse Effect Life on Earth Depends on Energy from the sun.
Sunlight passes through the atmosphere and falls on Earth’s surface. Some of it is released back into space. Some of it is trapped by the gases in the atmosphere and changed into heat energy makes the environment warm enough for plants and animals to live. .

16. 4. The Greenhouse Effect
Some human activities have raised the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Scientists think that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased, the global climate has gotten warmer than it was a century ago.

17. Higher Order Questions
How does pressure and temperature change in the atmosphere?
2. How does the ozone layer protect life on Earth?
3. How does the greenhouse effect help Earth maintain its temperature?
4. How does the atmosphere protect Earth from Meteorites?