What is Weather?

The condition of the Earth’s

atmosphere at a particular time
and place.
What is the atmosphere?
he envelope of gases that surround the plane
 What makes up our
atmosphere?
• There are four main gases that
make up our atmosphere. They
are Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon
Dioxide and Water Vapor.
• There is more Nitrogen in the air
than oxygen.
• Plants absorb Carbon Dioxide and
produce Oxygen for us to breathe.
 What is the ozone?
• A form of oxygen that has three
oxygen atoms in each molecule
instead of the usual two.
• Good ozone is found in the ozone
layer. Bad ozone is found in smog
(ozone close to the ground)
What is water vapor?
• Water in the form of gas.
 How do we live???
• The Earth’s atmosphere makes
conditions on Earth suitable for living
things.
• The atmosphere traps energy from the
sun, which keeps most of the Earth’s
surface warm enough for water to exist
as a liquid
• The atmosphere protects us from
dangerous radiation from the sun.
• The atmosphere protects us from being
 Pressure…
• Pressure is the
force pushing on an
area or surface.

• If pressure is the
force pushing on an
area, what is air
pressure?
 Air Pressure…
• Air pressure is the result of the weight of a
column of air pushing down on an area.
The column of air extends upward through
the entire atmosphere.
 What is Altitude???
• Altitude is simply the distance above sea
level.
• Sea level is the average level of the surface
of the oceans.
Air Pressure and
Altitude Rule:
Air pressure
decreases as altitude
increases. As air
pressure decreases,
so does density.
 Altitude and Density:
•As you go up in the
atmosphere, the density of
the air decreases. This
means that the higher up
you go, the gas molecules
that make up the
atmosphere are farther
apart at high altitudes.
 Why would you be more
out of breath running at
the top of a mountain than
•
on the beach?
There are less oxygen molecules at
the top of the mountain than on
the beach. As you go up in the
atmosphere, there are less oxygen
molecules.
Air Pressure, Altitude, and the
Layers of the Atmosphere…
 Troposphere…
• This is the layer
that you live in!
• The Troposphere
is the layer that
weather occurs in.

• The conditions
are always
changing because
weather is always
 The Stratosphere…
• This is the second
layer of the
atmosphere
where the ozone
layer is located.
• The ozone layer
protects living
things from
dangerous
ultraviolet
 The Mesosphere…
• Meso means
middle so the
mesosphere is the
middle layer of
the atmosphere.
• This is the layer
of the
atmosphere that
protects the
Earth’s surface
from being hit by
 The • The air in this
Thermosph layer is extremely
hot!
ere… • The Ionosphere is
located in the
thermosphere
– The ionosphere
helps reflect radio
waves.
– The Aurora
Borealis
(Northern) Lights
occur in the
Ionosphere.
 The Exosphere
• This is the layer of
Earth’s
atmosphere that
extends into
space. It has no
definite outer
limit but blends
gradually with
outer space.