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Weather pt 1 vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| mesosphere | Middle layers of atmosphere; 51-85km;coldest layer; this is were meters 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 earths atmosphere; 0-17 km above earths 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 as altitude. |
| Thermosphere | The fourth layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases with 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 gases. |
| Nitrogen (N2) | Most abundant gas in the atmosphere (78%) |
| Oxygen (02) | gas that makes up 21% of the air in earths 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; gases 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 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 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. |
| Ground water 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 (03) | 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. |