Recall that Earth’s atmosphere has several layers. Watch this video to review the major characteristics of each layer and test your knowledge with the questions that follow.
Source: NASA Now Minute: Earth’s Atmosphere: Earth Science Week | YouTube
Discover what’s been hanging around in our atmosphere.
Well, the atmosphere is the, layer of air that completely surrounds the Earth. It really changes quite a bit with altitude as you go up from the Earth's surface. There are several layers of the atmosphere that each has its own importance. The lowest layer, closest to the ground is what we call the troposphere. This is where all the weather occurs. The second layer is the stratosphere. It strongly absorbs ultraviolet radiation and allows only just a very small amount to reach down to the Earth's surface, where we live. If it were not for the stratospheric ozone, we would suffer terrible sunburns and horrendous rates of skin cancer. Next, we have the mesosphere, and there are many important chemical reactions that go on there that are, really driven by sunlight. And then above that is the thermosphere, where most of the molecules have become charged. So they're ions, and that extends out to at least a hundred kilometers or more.