“Chapter 1 Atmosphere Study Guide”
Shane McMullen 12-5-13
Oxygen is 21% of Earth’s atmosphere
Water in the form of a gas is called Water vapor
Oxygen is 21% of the gases in dry air
A process that uses oxygen in fire burning
The atmosphere is always because the amount of vapor varies from place to place
The envelope of gases that surrounds Earth is the atmosphere
Because air has mass, it has density and pressure
An instrument that is used to measure air pressure is a barometer
Two different units used to measure air pressure are inches of mercury and millibars
Another word for elevation, or distance above sea level, is altitude
Air pressure decreases as altitude increases
As air pressure decreases, so does air density
Air pressure is greater at sea level than on top of a mountain because air pressure at sea level has the
weight of the whole atmosphere pushing on it
As altitude increases, air density decreases
The amount of oxygen in each breath is less at high altitudes
Altitude is greater at point A
Air pressure is greater at point B
Density of the air is greater at point B
A cubic meter of air has less mass at point A
The percentage of oxygen in the air at point A is about 21%
The distance above sea level is altitude
An instrument that measures air pressure is a barometer
The amount of mass in a given volume of air is density
Layer of Atmosphere:
Troposphere: weather occurs here
Stratosphere: ozone layer
Mesosphere: stops meteoroids
Thermosphere: 2 layers ionosphere, exosphere- Northern Lights
Temperatures generally rise as altitude increases in the Stratosphere and Thermosphere
Harmful substances in the air, water, or soil are known as pollutants
Some natural sources of particles in the atmosphere is dust, smoke, and chemicals
Photochemical smog is caused by the action of sunlight on chemicals
Rain that contains more acid than normal is known as acid rain
Air quality in this country has generally improved ove the past 30 years