Layers of the Atmosphere WebQuest

Discover Earth's atmosphere layers!

Layers of the Atmosphere Video Use the links, video, and word bank below for each layer of the atmosphere to fill in the blanks. Troposphere <---- Click Me!!! The troposphere is the first layer of the Earth's atmosphere. It contains 75-80 % of the mass in Earth’s atmosphere and is where weather occurs. Nearly all of the water vaporand dustparticles in the atmosphere are found here. This is why clouds form in this layer. Here, warm air rises, but the top of the troposphere is quite cold. Air gets thin here Stratosphere <---- Click Me!! Many planes fly in the stratosphere. This layer contains the Ozone Layer. Ozone absorbs energyfrom incoming UV radiation from the sun. Temperatures rise as you move up through this layer. The stratosphere has very dry air due to very little water vapor. Look at the diagram: commercial jet aircraft can fly in the stratosphere. They fly in this stable layer to avoid the weather which is common below. Mesosphere <---- Click Me!! As you go higher in the mesosphere, the temperature becomes colder. Scientists do not know much about the mesosphere, but they do know that meteors burn up in this layer. Here, different gases are mixed together, but the air is so thin that atoms and molecules into each other. Thermosphere <---- Click Me!! The thermosphere is the fourth layer in Earth’s atmosphere. In this layer, temperatures rise. Temperatures can range from 360 F to 2000 F. Here, air density is very thin and most of this layer is what we think of as Outerspace. The thermosphere contains a layer of charged particles which is home to colorful aurora displays (Northern Lights). Look at the image. This is the layer in which satellites orbit. Exosphere <---- Click Me!! In the exosphere, the atmosphere is very thin as it begins to fade into space.