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Weather Part:1 Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Air pressure | The measure of the force with which air molecules push on a surface. |
| Altitude | Elevation (height) above sea level. |
| Troposphere | The lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere; 0-17 km above Earth's surface, site of weather, organisms, contains most atmospheric water vapor. |
| Stratosphere | 2nd layer of the atmosphere; extends from 10 to 30 miles up; location of ozone layer; absorbs 95% of Ultraviolet radiation; temperature increases with altitude increase. |
| Mesosphere | Middle layer of the atmosphere; 51-85 km above Earth's surface; coldest layer, in which meteors burn up. |
| Thermosphere | The fourth layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases. |
| Atmospheric gas | Nitrogen makes up 78%, 21% oxygen, and remaining 1% is carbon dioxide, water vapor and other gases. |
| Nitrogen (N2) | Most abundant gas in the atmosphere (78%) |
| Oxygen (O2) | Gas that makes up 21% of the air in Earth's atmosphere. It passes into the bloodstream at the lungs and travels to all body cells. |
| Carbon Dioxide (CO2) | A greenhouse gas: a gas that absorbs and radiates heat |
| Trace Gases | Gases such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and argon that exist in very small quantities in the atmosphere; gases that make up less than 1% of Earth's atmosphere. |
| Water Vapor | Water in the form of gas. |
| Fossil Fuels | A natural substance formed from the buried remains of ancient organisms that can be used as a source of energy. |
| Greenhouse Gases | Gases in Earth's atmosphere that trap heat near the surface. |
| Water Cycle | The continuous process by which water moves from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back. |
| Evaporation | The change of a substance from a liquid to a gas. |
| Condensation | The change from a gas to liquid. |
| Precipitation | Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface (rain or snow or hail or sleet or mist). |
| Transpiration | Evaporation of water for the leaves of a plant. |
| Crystallization | The process by which a substance becomes a solid, sort of like freezing. |
| Surface Runoff | Water that flows over land until it reaches lakes, rivers, or other areas. |
| Groundwater Flow | Water that is flowing beneath Earth's surface. |
| Dew | Water that has condensed on a cool surface overnight from water vapor in the air. |
| Frost | Ice formed when water vapor changes directly into ice crystals. |
| Ozone (O3) | Part of Earth's upper atmosphere; it protects people by absorbing harmful rays from the sun. |
| Greenhouse Effect | A warming of Earth's surface and the air above it. It is caused by gasses in the air that trap energy from the Sun.' |
| Exosphere | The outer layer of the thermosphere, extending outward into space. |