Lesson 2: The Atmosphere Layers
[dropcap type=”square”]2[/dropcap] The Atmosphere Layers
Scientists divided the atmosphere into four layers according to temperature: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. The temperature drops as we go up through the troposphere, but it rises as we move through the next layer, the stratosphere. The farther away from earth, the thinner the atmosphere gets.
[/frame][toggle title=”The Troposphere”]This is the layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth’s surface, extending up to about 10-15 km above the Earth’s surface. It contains 75% of the atmosphere’s mass. The troposphere is wider at the equator than at the poles. Temperature and pressure drops as you go higher up the troposphere.
[/toggle][toggle title=”The Stratosphere”]This layer lies directly above the troposphere and is about 35 km deep. It extends from about 15 to 50 km above the Earth’s surface.
The stratosphere is warmer at the top than the bottom. The lower portion has a nearly constant temperature with height but in the upper portion the temperature increases with altitude because of absorption of sunlight by ozone. This temperature increase with altitude is the opposite of the situation in the troposphere.[/toggle][toggle title=”The Mesosphere”]Directly above the stratosphere, extending from 50 to 80 km above the Earth’s surface, the mesosphere is a cold layer where the temperature generally decreases with increasing altitude. Here in the mesosphere, the atmosphere is very rarefied nevertheless thick enough to slow down meteors hurtling into the atmosphere, where they burn up, leaving fiery trails in the night sky.[/toggle][toggle title=”The Thermosphere”]The thermosphere extends from 80 km above the Earth’s surface to outer space. The temperature is hot and may be as high as thousands of degrees as the few molecules that are present in the thermosphere receive extraordinary large amounts of energy from the Sun. However, the thermosphere would actually feel very cold to us because of the probability that these few molecules will hit our skin and transfer enough energy to cause appreciable heat is extremely low.[/toggle]
Example of Articulate Storyline (rapid e-learning tool) used in conjunction with LearnDash:
[iframe_loader width=’100%’ height=’530′ frameborder=’0′ src=’https://mma.wan-ifra.org/wp-content/uploads/articulate_uploads/The_Atmosphere_Game4/story.html’]
[divider type=”ufo-right”]