2. Weather State or condition of all the variables in the atmosphere at a given location for any short period of time. Variables include: 1.Temperature 2.Pressure 3.Wind 4.Moisture

3. Atmosphere Sphere of Earth where weather takes place. Broken up into specific sections, each having specific characteristics.

4. Why is atmosphere important? oxygen (for respiration/ breathing) carbon dioxide (for photosynthesis) nitrogen (needed for many organic compounds) Helps control temperature Protects living things from UV rays Needed for sound transmission Needed for flying critters and aircraft

5. Composition of the Atmosphere: All other gasses: CO 2, Ar, Methane etc

7. What makes one layer different from the others? Temperature Chemical make up Density

8. Kilometer Scale: goes up by 10’s Mile Scale: goes up by 5’s 130 140 120 110 90 80 70 60 40 30 20 10 15 10 5 40 45 30 35 20 70 85 80 65 60 55

9. 11 km 7 mi

10. Weather takes place only in the troposphere

11. As altitude increases, temperature in the troposphere______________ decreases

12. Handy Dandy Earth Science Reference Tables: Page 14 15miles 25miles 50miles 80miles How High?

13. 30km 50km 80km 115km 140km And in Km’s?

14. Avg. temp at ground is 15°C Gets warmer as you get higher Gets colder as you get higher Gets warmer- atoms moving faster Temps get colder as you get higher

17. What are the layers of the atmosphere? Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere

18. Troposphere Closest to earth’s surface Height ~10 km (7 miles) 90% of atmosphere is here Components are well mixed Almost all weather occurs here Jet stream in upper troposphere Temperature decreases with altitude (thermal lapse rate = 6.5 ‘C per kilometer)

19. Stratosphere Very little moisture/ clouds are rare Pilots fly here to avoid weather problems Contains ozone (O 3 ) layer (~25 km) ozone blocks harmful levels of Ultraviolet radiation from reaching us Warmer temperatures due to ozone’s reaction with UV light

20. Mesosphere Temperature decreases with height Coldest temperature reached in atmosphere -90 C (~ -130 F) Air is very thin 99.9% of atmosphere is below this layer Protects us from meteors (falling stars)

21. Thermosphere Warmer layer above mesosphere Air is very thin, but molecules get lots of energy from the sun Temperature would feel cold to you because there are so few particles present

22. Boundaries between layers (constant temperature) Tropopause Between troposphere and stratosphere Stratopause Between stratosphere and mesosphere Mesopause Between mesosphere and thermosphere

23. What happens to the number of particles as you increase altitude? What do you think happens to the weight of the air as a result ? What do you think happens to air pressure as altitude increases? What might this look like in a graph?