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Atmosphere Vocab
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| 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 as altitude increases |
| Mesosphere | middle layer of the atmosphere; 51-85 km above Earth’s surface; coldest layer, this is where meteors burn up |
| Exosphere | the outer layer of the thermosphere, extending outward into space. |
| Atmosphereic 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 Dioxcide (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 |
| 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 |