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Physical Science
Vocabulary; Chapter 26
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Troposphere | The atmospheric layer closest to the Earth's surface, 16 km high over the equator and 8 km high over the poles, and containing 90% of the atmosphere's mass and essentially all its water vapor and clouds. |
| Stratosphere | The second atmospheric layer above the Earth's surface, extending from the top of the troposphere up to 50 km. |
| Mesosphere | The third atmospheric layer above the Earth's surface, extending from the top of the stratosphere to 80 km. |
| Thermosphere | The fourth atmospheric layer above the Earth's surface, extending from the top of the mesosphere to 500 km. |
| Exosphere | The fifth atmospheric layer above the Earth's surface, extending from the thermosphere upward and out into interplanetary space. |
| Greenhouse Effect | Warming caused by short-wavelength radiant energy from the Sun that easily enters the atmosphere and is absorbed by the Earth. This energy is then reradiated at longer wavelengths that cannot easily escape the Earth's atmosphere. Thus the Earth's atmosphe |