Atmosphere Flashcards, test questions and answers
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What is Atmosphere?
Atmosphere is the term for the layer of gas surrounding a planet or other celestial body. On Earth, this layer consists mainly of nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%). The atmosphere plays an important role in protecting life on Earth by absorbing ultraviolet radiation and acting as a greenhouse gas to trap heat. It also regulates temperature, influences weather patterns, and helps to sustain life on Earth.The atmosphere is divided into several distinct layers based on temperature: the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. Each of these layers has its own characteristics that make it unique. The troposphere lies closest to the surface of the Earth and contains most of our weather systems; it gets colder with increasing altitude until you reach the stratopause at around 11 miles above sea level. Above this lies the stratosphere which extends up to about 31 miles high; here temperatures start to warm again due to ozone absorption of ultraviolet light from the Sun’s rays. The mesopause marks another boundary where temperatures begin cooling off again before reaching the mesosphere at about 53 miles in altitude where meteoroids burn up due to friction with air molecules creating colorful streaks in night skies known as shooting stars. Finally beyond this lies two more layers: thermosphere (from 53 – 370 miles) which contains aurora borealis phenomena due solar particles interacting with oxygen atoms; then finally there’s exosphere (370+ miles), where atmospheric particles escape into space and no longer interact with each other or any other form of matter they may encounter while travelling through space. The atmosphere provides humans with many beneficial services such as protecting us from harmful UV rays, regulating temperature, providing an environment for plants to grow in and helping disperse pollutants away from cities quickly so people can continue living there safely without worrying about long-term health effects related to air pollution exposure over time. Without its protective shield we would not be able survive in our current environment so it’s important that we take steps now towards preserving this vital resource.