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weather part 1 vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Mesosphere | middle layer of atmosphere; 51-85 km; coldest layer; this is where meteors burn up. |
| 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 of earth' atmosphere; 0-17 km above earth's surface, site of weather, organisms, contains most atmospheric water vapor. |
| 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 outer layer of the thermosphere, extending outward into space. |
| atmospheric gases | nitrogen makes up 78%, 21% oxygen, and remaining 1% is carbon dioxide, water vapor and other gasses |
| 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 | 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; gases that make up less than 1% of earth's atmosphere |
| water vapor | water in the from of a 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 a liquid |
| precipitation | any from 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 |
| 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 | 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 gases in the air that trap energy from the sun. |