-It affects what we wear
-It affects what we do
-We hear about it every day
What are the reasons people should be interested in learning about weather?
100
The four layers closest to the Earth are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.
What are the four layers of the atmosphere, beginning with the layer closest to Earth's surface?
100
Air pressure is the weight of the air being pulled down on an area of the Earth's surface.
What is air pressure?
100
Earth is round and continuously moving, rotating and revolving around the sun, so all of our heat comes from the sun, but it can't reach all parts of the planet equally.
Why does the shape of our planet affect how it can be heated?
200
Weather is the condition of the air around the Earth.
What is weather?
200
Most of Earth's weather occurs in the troposphere.
Where does most of Earth's weather occur?
200
Two factors that affect air pressure are the amount of air above it and temperature.
What are two factors that affect air pressure?
200
Near the equator, sunlight hits the Earth very directly, at an angle close to 0 degrees, so it's warmer at the equator.
Why is the air around the equator warmer than the air around the North or South Pole?
300
-nitrogen
-oxygen
-small amounts of other gases
-water vapor
-small particles of dust
What are the five things that make up the atmosphere?
300
Airline pilots like to fly in the stratosphere because there isn't much moisture in this layer, so there are usually not many clouds. Passengers won't get bounced around by the weather.
Why do airline pilots like to fly in the stratosphere?
300
Air pressure would be greater at sea level than on the top of a mountain because if you are at the top of a mountain there is not much air above you, so the air pressure is low.
Why would air pressure be greater at sea level than it would be on the top of a mountain?
300
It is better to wear light-colored clothing on hot, sunny days because it will absorb less energy from the sun.
Why is it better to wear light-colored clothing on hot, sunny days?
400
The atmosphere is divided into 4 layers-troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, and the thermosphere.
How many layers has the atmosphere been divided?
400
It is in the mesosphere where you see trails of the hot gases left by burning.
If you see a falling star, in which part of the atmosphere do you think the meteor is traveling?
400
Air pressure would be greater at the South Pole because cold air weighs more than the same amount of warm air because the particles of air are closer together.
Would air pressure be greater at the South Pole or at the equator? Why?
400
During the daytime clouds prevent the Earth from becoming warmer by reflecting sunlight, blocking the sun's heat from reaching the Earth's surface.
How do clouds prevent the Earth from becoming warmer during the daytime?
500
The atmosphere gets thinner and thinner until it eventually disappears.
Where does the Earth's atmosphere end?
500
The ionosphere is important for communications because it is able to reflect radio waves back to Earth and stop them from continuing into space.
Why is the ionosphere important for communications?
500
The force of air pressure moves air particles because air wants to move from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure, and it will do so as quickly as possible.
How does the force of air pressure move air particles?
500
Warm air rises because when air is heated it becomes less dense and air that is less dense rises, so warm air rises.