Early Atmosphere
What gases made up Earth’s first atmosphere?
Hydrogen & Helium
What gas makes up most of the air we breathe?
Nitrogen (not oxygen!)
Which layer do we live in?
Troposphere
What’s at the very center of Earth?
Inner core (super hot metal ball)
What gas makes balloons float in the sky?
Helium
What blew that first atmosphere away?
The Sun's solar wind
What gas do we actually need to survive?
Oxygen
Which layer has the ozone layer (a giant sunblock)?
Which layer is liquid metal and makes Earth’s magnetic field?
Outer core
True or False: Earth is the only planet in our solar system with oxygen to breathe.
True
What did volcanoes spit out to help make the second atmosphere?
Gas like CO₂ and water vapor
Which gas do we exhale when we breathe out?
Carbon dioxide
Where do meteors burn up?
Mesosphere
What layer do we live on?
Crust (lithosphere)
About how much of Earth’s atmosphere is nitrogen?
78%
What space visitors also brought water to Earth?
Comets (a.k.a. dirty snowballs)
What gas do cows (and humans) fart that adds to the atmosphere?
Methane
Which layer has the Northern Lights?
Thermosphere
Which layer is like “silly putty” that tectonic plates float on?
Asthenosphere
Without the atmosphere, what would happen to most meteors?
They would crash into Earth instead of burning up
Without plants and bacteria, which gas would be missing from our air today?
Oxygen
If you had to live on Mars, what special item would you need?
A space suit
Which layer is so high up it’s basically outer space?
Exosphere
Which layer is like Earth’s “middle jacket” between crust and core?
Mantle (mesosphere)
What makes Earth look blue when seen from space?
The atmosphere scattering sunlight over the oceans