%Atmosphere Flashcards
What does the atmosphere contain?
Nitrogen- 78%
Oxygen- 21%
Water vapor, argon, carbon dioxide, ozone- 1%
What is the Earth’s atmosphere?
The atmosphere is a thin layer of gases surrounding Earth.
What is water vapor?
Water vapor is water in its gaseous form.
What is the troposphere?
The atmospheric layer closest to Earth’s surface is called the troposphere. Most people spend their entire lives within the troposphere. It extends from Earth’s surface to altitudes between 8–15 km.
What is the stratosphere?
The atmospheric layer directly above the troposphere is the stratosphere. The stratosphere extends from about 15 km to about 50 km above Earth’s surface.
What is the ozone layer?
The lower half of the stratosphere with a high concentration of ozone is referred to as the ozone layer.
What is the mesophere?
The mesosphere extends from the stratosphere to about 85 km above Earth.
What is the thermosphere?
The thermosphere can extend from the mesopshere to more than 500 km above Earth.
What is the ionsphere?
The ionosphere is a region within the mesosphere and thermosphere that contains ions. Between 60 km and 500 km above Earth’s surface, the ionosphere’s ions reflect AM radio waves transmitted at ground level.
What is the exosphere?
The exosphere is the atmospheric layer farthest from Earth’s surface. Here, pressure and density are so low that individual gas molecules rarely strike one another.
What is radiation?
Radiation is the transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves.
Explain all the different sunlight.
Visible light- majority of sunlight/ the sunlight we see
Ultraviolet light- It is beyond what our eyes can see. UV light has short wavelengths and can break chemical bonds.
Infrared radiation- has longer wavelengths than visible light. You can sense IR as thermal energy and as warmth.
Explain light absorb
50% of radiation is absorbed by earth surface.
20% of radiation is absorbed by particles in the atmosphere
25% of radiation is reflected by clouds and particles
5% of radiation is reflected by the land and sea surface
100% solar radiation
What is conduction?
Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy by collisions between particles of matter.
What is convection?
The transfer of thermal energy by the movement of particles within matter is called convection.
