Content Resources:
- Astronomy
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Ecology
- Engineering & Design
- Forensic Science
- Geology
- Health
- Meteorology
- Nature of Science
- Physics
- Oceanography
- Miscellaneous
- TAKS Review Materials
Teacher Resources:
Student Resources:
Parent Resources:
Email Webmaster
science (at) science-class.net
Due to the enormous amount of spam I receive, I had to create a new email address. I cannot make it a hot link because of the spam.
I'm sorry.
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Gandhi
The Atmosphere
For the man sound in body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather; every sky has its beauty, and storms which whip the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously.
George Gissing
-
Definition: The layer of gases surrounding Earth; the blanket of air around the Earth
- Composed mainly of nitrogen and oxygen
-
Divided into layers based on temperature
- Troposphere
- Layer closest to the surface of the Earth
- T decreases as altitude increases (it gets colder the higher you go)
- Where weather occurs
- Boundary between troposphere & stratosphere is tropopause
- Stratosphere
- T increases as altitude increases (it gets warmer the higher you go)
- Airplanes travel here
- Contains the ozone layer
- Protects us from ultraviolet radiation by absorbing it before it reaches the surface
- Prevents heat loss
- Boundary between stratosphere and mesosphere is stratospause
- Mesosphere
- T decreases with altitude
- Boundary between mesosphere and thermosphere is mesopause
- Thermosphere
- T increases with altitude
- Contains ionosphere
- Where Northern (and Southern) Lights occur
- Boundary between thermosphere and exosphere is thermopause
- Exosphere
- Gases can escape into outer space