The widest layer of the atmosphere with the largest variation in temperature range.
What is the thermosphere?
100
A thin layer of air that forms a protective covering around the planet.
What is the atmosphere?
100
Prevailing westerlies
What is responsible for the movement of much of the weather across the USA?
100
Transfer of heat through solids.
What is conduction?
100
The part of the cycle where water vapor cools and changes back into a liquid forming clouds.
What is condensation.
200
Containing the ozone layer and ending approximately 50 km above the earth, air travel takes place in this layer of the atmosphere.
What is the stratosphere?
200
These are blamed for helping to destroy our ozone layer.
What are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)?
200
Tropical winds so steady and reliable early sailors could use them to navigate trade routes.
What are trade winds?
200
Transfer of heat through liquids and gases.
What is convection?
200
The part of the cycle where sun heats the water turning it into a vapor.
What is evaporation?
300
This layer ends at outer space and contains very few molecules. The space shuttle orbits the earth in this atmospheric layer.
What is the exosphere?
300
Gravity causes this to be more dense near the earth's surface making it easier to breath because air molecules are pulled toward the earth. It decreases as you go higher into the atmosphere.
What is air pressure?
300
Causes of sea and land breezes.
What are convection currents?
300
Heat transfer by waves or rays.
What is radiation?
300
The part of the cycle where water has condensed so much it falls to the earth.
What is precipitation?
400
Like the troposphere, the temperature in this layer drops rather than rises as in the other layers. In fact, it drops from approximately zero degrees Celsius to about negative 80 degrees Celsius.
What is the mesosphere?
400
The type and percentage of gases in the atmosphere.
What is 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0.93 percent argon, 0.03 percent carbon dioxide, and other inert gases.
400
A narrow belt of strong winds that blows near the top of the troposphere.
What are jet streams.
400
Type of radiation responsible for many skin cancers.
What is ultraviolet radiation?
400
When there is too much water to soak into to the ground, this happens.
What is runoff?
500
Most of the ultraviolet radiation is absorbed in this layer which is located in the stratosphere.
What is the ozone layer?
500
Located within the mesosphere and thermosphere is this layer of electrically charged particles.
What is the ionosphere?
500
What causes the distinct wind patterns on Earth's surface?
What is the Coriolis effect and the amount of solar radiation?
500
The amount of radiation received on Earth's surface is not the same everywhere because of this.
What is a curved surface?
500
The cause of water to evaporate from oceans in the water cycle.