Wheres the Air ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS What are the

Where’s the Air?

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS • What are the different layers of Earth’s atmosphere? • What occurs in the layers of the atmosphere?

Air Observations • Where is the atmosphere? –Surrounding Earth • Can you see the atmosphere in the image of Earth taken from the shuttle? –White and orange layer above Earth’s surface.

Air Observations • What structures can you see in the atmosphere? –Black shapes, which are clouds • Why can’t you see the atmosphere in the image taken from space? –The atmosphere is so thin it is not visible from far away.

ATMOSPHERE • Earth is surrounded by a layer of air. The layer of air is called Earth’s atmosphere. The atmosphere lies between Earth’s surface and the vastness of space. We terrestrial animals live most of our lives at the bottom of the atmosphere, surrounded by the invisible mixture of gases called air.

ATMOSPHERE • Scientists have described Earth’s atmosphere in terms of several different layers based on the properties of the atmosphere at different elevations.

TROPOSPHERE • The lowest layer of the atmosphere is called the troposphere. Most of Earth’s air is found here, and Earth’s weather happens in the troposphere.

STRATOSPHERE • The layer above the troposphere is the stratosphere. You may have heard of the ozone layer. The ozone layer is found in the stratosphere.

MESOSPHERE • The mesosphere is above the stratosphere. This is the layer in which meteors burn up to create shooting stars.

THERMOSPHERE • The thermosphere is next. Scientists don’t know very much about thermosphere. There isn’t much air in thermosphere.

EXOSPHERE • The layer farthest away from Earth’s surface is the exosphere. It is a very tall layer, but it contains very little air. It is the transition layer between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.

TROPOSPHERE • The layer of the atmosphere that extends from Earth’s surface up to about 10 -24 km is the troposphere This poster is an enlarged view of the small layer clear down here at the bottom of the atmosphere poster.

TROPOSPHERE • The troposphere represents only about 2% of the height of the atmosphere, but about 85% of Earth’s air is found here. This is the most complex part of the atmosphere, and a lot of activity takes place here.

“Elevator to Space”

ATMOSPHERE POSTER!

TROPOSPHERE POSTER

READING: “A Thin Blue Veil” pgs. 8 -11

The atmosphere is the layer of gases (air) surrounding earth. The air gets thinner (less concentrated) as the distance from Earth’s surface increases. The types of gas remain mostly the same; the amount of each kind can vary with altitude. Temperature generally decreases as altitude increases, although it rises in parts of the stratosphere and in thermosphere. The layer of atmosphere that is the greatest interest is the troposphere because that is where clouds, wind, rain, and other types of weather happen. The gases found in the atmosphere are nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, hydrogen, helium, and ozone. Carbon Dioxide and water vapor are found only in the troposphere.

WORD BANK • Atmosphere- the layer of air that surrounds Earth. • Troposphere- the lowest layer of atmosphere. Most of Earth’s air is here. • Stratosphere- the layer above the troposphere, ozone is here.

WORD BANK • Mesosphere- above the stratosphere, shooting stars • Thermosphere- above the mesosphere, don’t know much about this one. • Exosphere- farthest away from Earth’s surface, tallest and has little air.

ART CONTEST • You will create your own small-scale atmosphere poster! § All layers must be accurately labeled (5 pts) • The distances for each layer must be accurate (5 pts) • The poster must be pretty and colorful (5 pts) – Pro tip – consider drawing things you find in each layer

ART CONTEST • We will pick the four ‘prettiest’ posters from each period to be on the Stuff and Things wall. – After I grade them of course, and after your first science test (which is Friday!)