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CH2 The Atmosphere
Question | Answer |
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What is the composition of Earth’s atmosphere? | Earth’s atmosphere is made up of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and many other gases, as well as particles such as smoke, dust, salt, and other chemicals. |
How is the atmosphere important to living things? | Earth’s atmosphere makes conditions on Earth suitable for living things by providing oxygen, trapping heat from the Sun (keeps water liquid), and protects us from radiation and meteoroids. |
What are some of the properties of air? | Because air has mass, it also has other properties, including density and pressure. |
What instruments are used to measure air pressure? | Two common kinds of barometers are mercury barometers and aneroid barometers. |
How does increasing altitude affect air pressure and density? | Air pressure decreases as altitude increases. As air pressure decreases, so does density. |
What are the four main layers of the atmosphere? | Scientists divide Earth’s atmosphere into four main layers classified according to changes in temperature. These layers are the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, and the thermosphere. |
What are the characteristics of the troposphere? | The troposphere is the layer of the atmosphere in which Earth’s weather occurs. |
What are the characteristics of the stratosphere? | The stratosphere is the second layer of the atmosphere and contains the ozone layer. |
What are the characteristics of the mesosphere? | The mesosphere is the layer of the atmosphere that protects Earth’s surface from being hit by most meteoroids. |
What are the characteristics of the thermosphere? | The thermosphere is the outer layer of the atmosphere where satellites orbit |