The document describes the composition and layers of Earth's atmosphere. It is comprised of different gases that are held in place by gravity. The major layers from lowest to highest are: the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. The troposphere contains weather. The stratosphere contains the ozone layer which absorbs sunlight. Temperature varies within the layers. The principal gases in Earth's atmosphere are nitrogen and oxygen, with smaller amounts of other gases like argon, carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other elements.

1. Composition and
Layers of the Atmosphere

5. Mixture of gases
surrounding the earth
Held by the gravitational
field
“gaseous envelope” of the
Earth

6. Troposhere
Stratosphere – Ozone Layer
Mesosphere
Thermosphere –
Ionosphere
Exosphere
Magnetoshpere

8.  lowest layer of the earth's
atmosphere and site of all
weather on the earth. The
troposphere is bounded on
the top by a layer of air
called the tropopause, which
separates the troposphere
from the stratosphere, and
on the bottom by the surface
of the earth.

9.  upper layer of the atmosphere.
 In the lower portion of the
stratosphere, the temperature
remains nearly constant with
height, but in the upper portion
the temperature increases rapidly
with height because of
absorption of sunlight by ozone.

10. Found in the stratosphere
Ozone concentrations (O3)
of up to 10 parts per million
occur in the ozone layer.
The ozone forms there by
the action of sunlight on
oxygen.

13. the layer of the Earth's
atmosphere in which
temperature
decreases rapidly.
Where meteors
disintegrate

15. Temperature
increases by
height
Where space
shuttles fly by
Auroral displays

16.  the air is extremely thin, having
about the density of the gas in a
vacuum tube.
 When the atmospheric particles are
ionized by ultraviolet radiation from
the Sun or by other radiation, they
tend to remain ionized, because few
collisions occur between ions.
 Reflection of signals

18. Outer limit of the
atmosphere
Where artificial
satellites and
space stations fly
by

19. region surrounding Earth
in which charged particles
are affected by the
planet’s magnetic field.

24.  mixture of gases that composes the
atmosphere surrounding Earth.

25.  The principal constituents of
the atmosphere of Earth are
nitrogen (78 percent) and
oxygen (21 percent).
 The atmospheric gases in the
remaining 1 percent are
argon, carbon dioxide, and
trace amounts of hydrogen,
ozone, methane, carbon
monoxide, helium, neon,
krypton, and xenon.

27.  Colorless, odorless, slightly soluble in water
 Does not combine readily with other
substances
 It is an important element in plant nutrition;
certain bacteria in the soil convert
atmospheric nitrogen into a form, such as
nitrate, that can be absorbed by plants.

28.  Very active
 Gas produced by plants when they make their
own food.
 It combines with iron to form rust. In
burning, oxygen in air combines with carbon
to form CO2.

29.  It does not combine easily with other
substances

30.  Produced by animals, burning of fuels, and by
volcanic eruptions
 Absorbed by plants and changed into food.
 Air near the ground has more CO2 and is
therefore warmer than air far above.

31.  Like Argon, not reactive.
 Noble gases

32.  Poisonous gas
 It occurs in natural gas, as firedamp in coal
mines, as a by-product of petroleum refining,
and as a product of decomposition of matter
in swamps.

33.  Hydrogen is highly active, it readily combines
with other substances in the air leaving little
free hydrogen.
 Helium is the lightest noble gas. It is inactive.
Used in balloons.

34.  John Mayow (1600s) – two parts of air; one
part supported life and fire, the other part did
not.
 Daniel Rutherford – proved that there was
CO2 in the air which did not support life
 Joseph Priestley (1774) – discovered Oxygen
 Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay discovered
Argon in 1894.

35. 1. First Atmosphere: H and He
2. Second Atmosphere:
Ammonia, Methane, Water
Vapor, CO2, carbon
monoxide, and hydrogen
sulfide
3. Third Atmosphere: present
atmosphere