Lesson 1 Earth’s

Atmosphere
Do you agree or disagree?
1. Air is empty space.
2. Earth’s atmosphere is important to
living organisms.
3. All the energy from the Sun reaches
Earth’s surface.
4. Earth emits energy back into the
atmosphere.
Do you agree or disagree?
5. Uneven heating in different parts of the
atmosphere creates air circulation
patterns.
6. Warm air sinks and cold air rises.
7. If no humans lived on Earth, there
would be no air pollution.
8. Pollution levels in the air are not
measured or monitored.
Earth’s Atmosphere

• How did Earth’s atmosphere form?

• What is Earth’s atmosphere made of?
• What are the layers of the
atmosphere?
• How do air pressure and temperature
change as altitude increases?
Earth’s Atmosphere

• atmosphere • stratosphere
• water vapor • ozone layer
• troposphere • ionosphere
Importance of Earth’s Atmosphere
• The atmosphere is a thin layer of gases
surrounding Earth.
• The atmosphere contains the oxygen
and water necessary for life on Earth.
• The atmosphere provides insulation
and helps keep temperatures on Earth
within a range in which living organisms
can survive.
Importance of Earth’s Atmosphere
(cont.)
The atmosphere helps protect living
organisms from some of the Sun’s
harmful rays and meteorites.

atmosphere
from Greek atmos, means
“vapor”; and Latin sphaera,
means “sphere”
Origins of Earth’s Atmosphere
• Erupting volcanoes emitting hot gases
from ancient Earth’s interior surrounded
the planet to form an atmosphere.
• Ancient Earth’s atmosphere was
thought to be water vapor with a little
carbon dioxide and nitrogen, but not
enough oxygen to support life.
• Water vapor is water in gaseous form.
Origins of Earth’s Atmosphere (cont.)
• As Earth and its atmosphere cooled,
the water vapor condensed into liquid,
rain fell, and then evaporated from
Earth’s surface for thousands of years.
• Eventually water began to accumulate
on Earth’s surface, forming oceans.
• Earth’s first organisms could undergo
photosynthesis, which changed the
atmosphere.
Origins of Earth’s Atmosphere (cont.)
• The organisms removed CO2 from the
atmosphere and released oxygen into it.
• Eventually the levels of CO2 and oxygen
supported the development of other
organisms.
Origins of Earth’s Atmosphere (cont.)

How did Earth’s present

atmosphere form?
Composition of the Atmosphere
• Today’s atmosphere is mostly made up
of invisible gases, including nitrogen,
oxygen, and carbon dioxide.
• About 78 percent of the atmosphere is
nitrogen, and about 21 percent is
oxygen.
• The amounts of water vapor, carbon
dioxide, and ozone vary.
Acids in the air are
formed when sulfur
dioxide and nitrous

PhotoLink/Getty Images
oxide combine with
water vapor.
Composition of the Atmosphere (cont.)
• Many tiny solid particles, such as
pollen, dust, and salt, can enter the
atmosphere through natural processes.
• Solid particles of ash from volcanic
eruptions and exhaust soot from cars
are also present in the atmosphere.
One way solid
particles enter the
atmosphere is from
volcanic eruptions.

C. Sherburne/PhotoLink/Getty Images
Composition of the Atmosphere (cont.)
• The most common liquid particles in
the atmosphere are water droplets.
• Though microscopic in size, water
particles are visible when they form
clouds.
• Other atmospheric liquids include acids
that result when volcanoes erupt and
fossil fuels are burned.
Composition of the Atmosphere (cont.)
Acids in the air are formed when sulfur
dioxide and nitrous oxide combine with
water vapor.

What is Earth’s atmosphere

made of?
Layers of the
Atmosphere
The atmosphere has
several different layers,
each with its own unique
properties.
Layers of the Atmosphere (cont.)
• The atmospheric layer closest to
Earth’s surface is called the
troposphere.
• The troposphere extends from Earth’s
surface to altitudes between 8-15 km.
• The temperature of the troposphere
decreases as you move away from
Earth.
Layers of the Atmosphere (cont.)
• Sunlight passes through the
atmosphere, warms Earth’s surface,
and the warmth is radiated to the
troposphere, causing weather.
• The stratosphere is the atmospheric
layer directly above the troposphere.
Layers of the Atmosphere (cont.)
• The stratosphere extends from about
15 km to about 50 km above Earth’s
surface.
• The area of the stratosphere with a high
concentration of ozone is referred to as
the ozone layer.
• The presence of the ozone layer causes
the stratospheric temperatures to
increase with altitude.
Layers of the Atmosphere (cont.)
• Ozone has three oxygen atoms and
absorbs the Sun’s ultraviolet rays more
effectively than oxygen.
• Ozone protects Earth from ultraviolet
rays that can kill plants, animals, and
other organisms and cause skin cancer
in humans.
Layers of the Atmosphere (cont.)
• Combined, the mesosphere and
thermosphere are much thicker than
the troposphere and the stratosphere,
yet only 1 percent of the atmosphere’s
gas molecules are found in the
mesosphere and thermosphere.
• Most meteors burn up in the
mesosphere and thermosphere
instead of striking Earth.
• The ionosphere is a region within the
mesosphere and thermosphere
containing ions.
• The ionosphere’s ions reflect AM radio
waves transmitted at ground level.
Auroras occur in
the ionosphere
when ions from the
Sun strike air
molecules,
causing them to
emit vivid colors of
light.

Per Breiehagen/Getty Images

Layers of the Atmosphere (cont.)
• The exosphere is the atmospheric layer
farthest from Earth’s surface where
pressure and density are so low that
individual gas molecules rarely strike
one another.
• The molecules move at incredibly fast
speeds after absorbing the Sun’s
radiation and can escape the pull of
gravity and travel into space.
Layers of the Atmosphere (cont.)

What are the layers of the

atmosphere?
Air Pressure and Altitude
• Gravity pulls the
atmosphere toward Earth,
creating air pressure.
• At higher altitudes, the air
is less dense and air
pressure is lower.
• At lower altitudes, the air
is denser and air pressure
is higher.
Temperature and Altitude
• Temperature changes in different ways
as altitude increases in the different
layers of the atmosphere.
• In the troposphere, temperature
decreases as altitude increases.
• In the stratosphere, temperature
increases as altitude increases
because of the high concentration of
ozone.
Temperature and Altitude (cont.)
• In the mesosphere, as altitude
increases, temperature again
decreases.
• In the thermosphere and exosphere,
temperatures increase as altitude
increases.
Temperature and Altitude (cont.)

How does temperature

change as altitude increases?
• Earth’s atmosphere consists of gases
that make life possible.

PhotoLink/Getty Images
• Layers of the
atmosphere
include the
troposphere, the
stratosphere, the
mesosphere, the
thermosphere,

Per Breiehagen/Getty Images

and the
exosphere.
• The ozone layer is the area in the
stratosphere with a high concentration
of ozone.
Where did hot gases that created
Earth’s atmosphere come from?

A. the Sun
B. erupting volcanoes
C. the air
D. the ocean
What is about 78 percent of
Earth’s atmosphere made of?

A. nitrogen
B. oxygen
C. ozone
D. carbon dioxide
What is the region within the
mesosphere and thermosphere
containing ions?
A. exosphere
B. stratosphere
C. ozone layer
D. ionosphere
Do you agree or disagree?

1. Air is empty space.

2. Earth’s atmosphere is important to
living organisms.