A Mixture Of Gases That Surrounds The Earth

Question: Atmosphere
Answer: A mixture of gases that surrounds a planet, such as Earth.
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Question: Gases in the Atmosphere
Answer: Nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other gases are all parts of this mixture.
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Question: Composition of the Atmosphere
Answer: Nitrogen makes up 78 percent of the Earth's atmosphere, and enters the atmosphere when volcanoes erupt and when dead plants and animals decay.
Oxygen is the 2nd most abundant gas in the atmosphere and is primarily produced by plants.
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Question: Air Pressure
Answer: Earth's atmosphere is pulled toward Earth's surface by gravity and as a result, the atmosphere is denser near the Earth's surface.
Air also become less dense with elevation, so breathing at higher elevations is more difficult.
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Question: Layers of the Atmosphere
Answer: 1. The Troposphere
2. Stratosphere
3. The Mesosphere
4. The Thermosphere
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Question: Troposphere
Answer: The lowest layer of the atmosphere in which temperature drops at a constant rate as altitude increases. The part of the atmosphere where weather conditions exist. This is the Earth's densest atmospheric layer.
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Question: Stratosphere
Answer: The layer of the atmosphere that lies immediately above the troposphere & extends from about 10 - 50 km above Earth's surface. Temperature rises as altitude increases because ozone in the stratosphere absorbs the sun's ultraviolet energy and warms the air.
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Question: Ozone
Answer: A gas molecule that is made up of three oxygen atoms. It is mostly concentrated in the stratosphere. It also reduces the amount of UV radiation that reaches the Earth.
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Question: Mesosphere
Answer: The layer above the stratosphere. This is the coldest layer of the atmosphere. This layer extends to an altitude of about 80 km.
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Question: Thermosphere
Answer: Layer located farthest from Earth's surface. The air in this sphere is so thin that air particles rarely collide so little heat is transferred, and not feel hot to us. Nitrogen and oxygen absorb solar radiation.
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Question: Ions
Answer: Electrically charged atoms. They can radiate energy as light, and these lights often glow in spectacular colors in the night skies near the Earth's North and South Poles.
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Question: Radiation
Answer: Energy that is transferred as electromagnetic waves, such as visible light and infrared waves.
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Question: Conduction
Answer: The transfer of energy as heat through a material
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Question: Convection
Answer: The movement of matter due to differences in density that are caused by temperature variations an can result in the transfer of energy as heat.
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Question: Solar Energy
Answer: Reaches the Earth as electromagnetic radiation, which includes visible light, infrared radiation, and ultraviolet light. Half of this enters and reaches Earth's surface. Dark colored objects absorb more of this than light colored objects, so dark colored objects have more energy to release the heat.
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Question: Convection Current
Answer: The continual process of warm air rising & cool air sinking & moving air in a circular motion.
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Question: Greenhouse Effect
Answer: The warming of the surface o& lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases in the air absorb & reradiate infrared radiation. Without this, the Earth would be too cold for life to exist.
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Question: Greenhouse Gases
Answer: The gases in the atmosphere that trap and radiate heat.
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Question: Most Abundant Greenhouse Gases
Answer: Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
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Question: Movement of Energy in the Atmosphere
Answer: As a current of air, warmed by the Earth's surface, rises into the atmosphere, it begins to cool, & eventually becomes more dense then the air around it and sinks. This current then moves back toward the Earth until heated & less dense & then begins to arise again.
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