Unit 5: Atmosphere Study Guide

Objective: This study guide will help you review the most IMPORTANT information from each
lesson, and help you prepare for the unit test. You CANNOT use this study guide on the test! I
suggest you print and study this with your Learning Coach before you take the test.

5.2 Atmospheric Layers

● Altitude is the distance from Earth’s surface. Air pressure and oxygen levels decrease
as altitude increases, resulting in “thinner air” that is more difficult to breathe. This is why
it is harder to breathe as you climb a mountain.
● The layer of atmosphere that is closest to Earth’s surface is called the troposphere.
Most of the atmosphere’s moisture is found in the troposphere. This is also where
weather occurs.
● The stratosphere is located above the troposphere, 50 km above Earth’s surface. This
is where much of the atmosphere’s ozone is located. Ozone is able to absorb harmful
ultraviolet radiation from the sun. This prevents much of these rays from reaching Earth.
● Earth’s water has been here for billions of years. It is continually recycled in a process
called the water cycle. For example, water in a lake (part of the hydrosphere)
evaporates and rises up into the atmosphere as the gas, water vapor. Plants (part of the
biosphere) also release water through their leaves into the atmosphere in a process
called transpiration. Eventually, water vapor in the atmosphere condenses to form rain
and fall back to Earth. Precipitation can cause changes in Earth’s lithosphere known as
erosion, but it also provides water to the soil and helps plants grow. Then humans and
other animals eat the plants for food (both part of the biosphere).

5.4 Fossil Fuels and Climate Change

● From about 1850 to the late 1990s, a series of Industrial Revolutions took place
around the world. Before this time, most people were involved with farming as a way to
make a living. During the Industrial Revolution, people worked in factories making goods
such as fabric, cars, and other machines. These factories needed fuel to make the
goods. Coal and oil became important resources to power these factories.
● Global warming is the increase in Earth’s average temperature over a long period of
time. The planet gets warmer as a result of the greenhouse effect.
● Climate change is the change in average weather patterns over several years. Climate
change includes changes in temperature, but it also includes other factors such as the
frequency of storms and changes in rainfall. Climate change is driven today mostly by
global warming.
● Electric cars are better for the environment because they create much less pollution.
Electric cars are one way to combat global climate change.

5.6 Human Activities and Climate Change

● Deforestation is the clearing or cutting of a forest. Clearing a forest using fire releases
even more greenhouse gases than cutting. Burning returns the stored carbon in the
trees to the air as carbon dioxide.
 ● Cows have microbes in their stomachs that help them digest food. As they break down
food, these microbes also produce methane. Much of this gas is released when the cow
burps. The rest escapes at the other end!
● The use of fertilizers also adds to greenhouse gas emissions. When nitrogen-containing
fertilizers break down, they release nitrous oxide, which is also a greenhouse gas.
● The decomposing waste in landfills releases methane gas. If the site is sealed,
methane can be collected. Otherwise all that methane is released into the air.

5.8 Polar Ice and Climate Change

● Because of global warming, the average temperature of the Arctic Ocean has gradually
increased over the past 40 years. More ice melts earlier each spring and forms later
each fall. As a result, there is now more open ocean each year in the Arctic than ever
before. This exposes the ocean to the warming effects of the sun for a longer period of
time each year.
● The formation of sea ice affects how water is circulated in the ocean. Scientists are
concerned that the loss of sea ice may slow the normal circulation of ocean water.
● Consider the ocean currents in the diagram below.
○ The cold current cools the eastern coast of Canada and the United States in the
summer. If it slows, these regions will be warmer.
○ The warm current provides warmth to the west coast of western Europe, making
winter milder there than locations farther inland. In the future, the coastal areas of
Europe might not be as mild as they once were if the current slows.