Even though the atmosphere is thin, it has so many awesome things... chapter 15 power point.notebook. September 01, 2015 ATMOSPHERE!!!!

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1 ATMOSPHERE!!!! IT'S AWESOME it protects us it gives us everything we need to live Jan 20 10:48 AM Jan 20 10:49 AM Even though the atmosphere is thin, it has so many awesome things... Believe it or not, more than 75% of the air we breath is nitrogen, not oxygen Oxygen to breathe Nitrogen to make big muscles Weather (like snow for snow days) It holds in warmth from the sun Jan 20 10:51 AM 78% Oxygen only makes up 21% of the gasses in the atmosphere WOWIE ZOWIE! Jan 20 11:03 AM 1

2 Nitrogen is necessary for life. if it weren't for nitrogen, cuts would not heal, we couldn't make new cells in our body and we could not turn protein into muscle tissue! Jan 20 11:01 AM Carbon dioxide makes up less than 1% of the atmospheric gasses, but without carbon dioxide, there could be no life on earth because it's this gas that holds in heat from the sun and keeps our planet warm enough to live on (allows most water on the planet stay a liquid) Plants use carbon dioxide to make food from the sun Even though oxygen is less than 1/4 of the gasses in the atmosphere, it's still very important to life on earth, without oxygen we could not have fire! Oxygen also lets living things convert food into energy (burning fuel) Jan 20 2:11 PM Water vapor is water in a gas form, a lot of it makes the air feel humid, very little makes the air feel dry The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere changes, sometimes there is a lot, sometimes there is very little. Places like the tropics have a lot of water vapor in the air all the time. How much water vapor is in the air affects weather Jan 20 2:15 PM Jan 20 2:27 PM 2

3 There are other gasses in very small amounts in the atmosphere, such as Argon. these gasses are in such small amounts that they are called TRACE gasses, because there is only a trace of them compared to the other gasses in the atmosphere There are other particles in the atmosphere, such as salt particles, dust, ash, pollutants, but most of the time they are too small to see. Jan 20 2:22 PM Jan 20 2:33 PM Because air is made of molecules of gas, it has mass and volume, just imagine a balloon being blown up, if air did not take up space, the balloon would never expand! Air pressure (or how dense the air is) is measured with a tool called a barometer. there are two types of barometers. Mercury and Aneroid Because air is matter it can exert a force on things (such as your ear drums) this force is called air pressure Air also has density, sometimes it is denser than others, the density of air, it's temperature, and pressure all have a HUGE affect on the weather Jan 20 2:40 PM Jan 20 2:41 PM 3

4 In order to measure something accurately, we use units such as inches or miles. Distance is measured in miles and weight is measured in pounds. Air pressure is measured using 2 units: inches and millibars Altitude is a measure of how high you are in relation to sea level. As you move up in altitude, the density of the air decreases, that is because there is less air above you exerting a force. Think of a big pile of marshmallows... mmmmm...marshmallows the marshmallows at the top aren't as squished the marshmallows on the bottom get squished (become denser) because the marshmallows on top of them are pushing down on them Jan 20 2:49 PM Jan 21 11:51 AM Air is just like that! Near the top of the atmosphere, the air is less dense If air is denser, it will exert a greater force and the air pressure will be greater. so... Near sea level, the air is a lot denser because all the molecules of gas above it are pushing down causing the molecules to get closer together making the air more dense Altitude affects the density of the air & Altitude affects air pressure Jan 20 3:01 PM Jan 21 11:55 AM 4

5 A comparison of air pressure and density at sea level and a mile above sea level Why do you think it takes less room for planes to take off at sea level? Jan 20 2:59 PM Jan 20 2:58 PM The atmosphere is divided into layers. The atmosphere has four distinct layers, each layer has special characteristics and functions! If you look into the sky, you can not see the boundary between the layers (there is no visible marker), the only way you would be able to tell you have gone from one layer to the next is by temperature change Jan 20 3:21 PM Jan 21 12:12 PM 5

6 Jan 20 2:57 PM Jan 20 2:50 PM All weather occurs in the troposphere! that is where all the water vapor is found Jan 21 12:21 PM Jan 21 12:21 PM 6

7 Jan 20 2:58 PM Jan 20 10:51 AM 7