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Weather part 1 Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Mesosphere | middle layers 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 Earth's 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 with altitude increase |
| 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 |
| 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 remains of ancient organisms that can be used as a source of energy |
| Greenhouse Gases | gasses 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 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 | 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 |