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5.4 ATMOSPHERE
DEFINITION
•Atmosphere:
•The layer of gas
surrounding the Earth
GREENHOUSE GAS EFFECT
•What is it?
•The gases in the atmosphere
help trap heat like the
windows of a greenhouse
making the Earth warmer
than it would be without
them
GREENHOUSE GAS EFFECT
•Without the greenhouse gas effect, the average
temperature on Earth would be -18°C
•With the greenhouse gas effect, the average temperature on Earth is +15°C
GREENHOUSE GAS EFFECT
SO WHY DO WE CONSIDER IT A BAD THING?
•The greenhouse effect is
generally a good thing
• Important for sustaining life
SO WHY DO WE CONSIDER IT A BAD THING?
• The problem is that that humans have created processes (ex: burning
fossil fuels) that releases more
greenhouse gases than is natural
• This is causing the Earth to keep too
much heat in
•We’re making the planet too warm
COMPOSITION OF THE ATMOSPHERE
•Air is a homogeneous mixture
with two main gases!
•Nitrogen (79%) and Oxygen
(21%)
•Carbon Dioxide (0.03%)and
other gases (0.97%) are found
in small quantities
LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE
• There are five main layers of the
atmosphere:
1. Troposphere (0-20 km)
2. Stratosphere (20-50 km)
3. Mesosphere (50-85 km)
4. Thermosphere (85-690 km)
5. Exosphere (690-10 000 km)
TROPOSPHERE
• Layer that contacts the ground
• Contains the gases necessary for life (80% of them)
• Clouds form here
• The higher you go,
the colder it gets
STRATOSPHERE
•Where you’ll find the ozone layer
• Layer that blocks UV rays from the
sun
• The higher you go,
the warmer it gets
•Where airplanes fly
MESOSPHERE
• Meteoroids break up here! (Shooting stars)
• Have large temperature variations here
• The higher you go, the colder it gets
THERMOSPHERE
• The higher you go, the
hotter it gets; hottest
temperature reaches 1500°C
• Where satellites are
found and the
international space
station
• Site of the Polar
Auroras
EXOSPHERE
•The outermost part of the atmosphere that is still considered to be part of Earth
•Contains only a few particles that move into and out of space
•More satellites are found here