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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 | lowest layer of earth's atmosphere;0-17 km above earths surface, site of weather, organisms, contains most atmospheric water vapor |
| Mesosphere | middle layer of atmosphere; 51-85 km; coldest layer; this is where meteors burn up |
| Stratosphere | 2nd layer of atmosphere; extends from 10 to 30 miles up; location of ozone layer; absorbs 95% of Ultraviolet radiation; temperature increases with altitude increase |
| Thermosphere | the fourth layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases |
| Exosphere | the other layer of the thermosphere , extending outwards into space |
| Atmosphere Gases | 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 | gasses such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and argon that exist in very small quantities in the atmosphere; gasses that make up less than 1% of earth's atmosphere |
| Water Vapor | water in the form of a gas |
| Fossil Fuels | a natural substance formed from the buried remains of ancient organisms that can be used at sources of energy |
| Greenhouse Gases | gasses in the earth's atmosphere that trap heat near the surface |
| Water Cycle | the continuous process by which the water moves from earth's surface to the atmosphere and back |
| Evaporation | the change of substance from liquid to gas |
| Condensation | the change from a gas to a 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 from 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 |