How to explain to a child what the atmosphere is. What is atmosphere? The composition of the Earth's atmosphere

When we read about human exploration of the moon and planets, we often come across questions about the atmosphere. Do other planets have an atmosphere? As far as scientists know, no planet or star has an atmosphere similar to ours.

What is atmosphere? We can think of it as an ocean of air that surrounds the earth and is several hundred miles high. The ocean of air has the same composition throughout the earth. Basically it consists of certain gases, which always remain in the same proportion. About 78 percent is nitrogen, 21 percent is oxygen, and the remaining one percent is made up of gases that are called rare - argon, neon, helium, krypton and xenon.

The air that surrounds the Earth has the same chemical composition up to 18 miles, although this figure can go up to 44 miles. When you reach the upper atmosphere, you are at the top of what is called the troposphere. It is the layer closest to the Earth's surface. At an altitude of 18 to 31 miles from the surface of the Earth is a layer of hot air, with a temperature of about 42 degrees Celsius. The reason for the heating of this layer is the absorption of heat from the sun's rays by the ozone present here.

Ozone is a special form of oxygen where the molecule is made up of three oxygen atoms instead of the usual two. The hot ozone layer serves to protect us from the sun's most active rays - ultraviolet. Without it, we would not have survived the sunlight. Even higher is a layer, or several layers, called the ionosphere, which is located at an altitude of 44 to 310 miles above the earth. The ionosphere consists of particles electrified by the Sun. Air molecules are in constant motion. The atmosphere can only be maintained if the molecules are constantly colliding with each other and cannot escape. But the higher you go, the thinner the air becomes.

It is very unlikely that a molecule from below will bounce back after colliding with a molecule from above. Therefore, the molecules go into open space, and the atmosphere is completely rarefied. There is a zone called the exosphere, where the torn off molecules move almost freely, and this zone starts at an altitude of 400 miles and extends up to 1500 miles.

The air "fur coat" of our Earth is called the atmosphere. Without it, life on Earth is impossible. On those planets where there is no atmosphere, there is no life. The atmosphere protects the planet from hypothermia and overheating. It infuriates 5 million billion tons. We breathe in oxygen and plants take in carbon dioxide. The “fur coat” protects all living beings from the destructive hail of cosmic fragments that burn up on the way to the Earth, the ozone layer of the atmosphere saves us from cosmic rays.

Our planet is surrounded by a multi-layered atmosphere, just as in an egg the yolk is surrounded by protein. The lowest layer of the troposphere (its thickness is up to 15 km) is the “kitchen of the weather”, where warm and cold air masses constantly move, mix, fogs, clouds, and clouds form. In the stratosphere (its thickness is 25-30 km), ozone, a gas vital to the Earth, accumulates in its upper part. The thickness of the ozone layer is negligible. As a result of air pollution, chemicals began to enter the atmosphere that destroy the ozone layer. The mesosphere starts from a height of 50-55 km up to about 80 km above the Earth. With an increase in the height of the lift, the instruments note a sharp increase in temperature. The thermosphere begins, or the ionosphere - a bottomless sea of ionized gas. The air is very rarefied and under the action of cosmic radiation has a high electrical conductivity. It is in the high layers of the atmosphere that miraculous phenomena occur - the aurora borealis. The ionized gas in the atmosphere is called plasma.

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The atmosphere is what makes life possible on Earth. We get the very first information and facts about the atmosphere in elementary school. In high school, we are already more familiar with this concept in geography lessons.

The concept of the earth's atmosphere

The atmosphere is present not only in the Earth, but also in other celestial bodies. This is the name of the gaseous shell surrounding the planets. The composition of this gaseous layer of different planets is significantly different. Let's look at the basic information and facts about otherwise called air.

Its most important component is oxygen. Some mistakenly think that the earth's atmosphere is made entirely of oxygen, but air is actually a mixture of gases. It contains 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. The remaining one percent includes ozone, argon, carbon dioxide, water vapor. Let the percentage of these gases be small, but they perform an important function - they absorb a significant part of the solar radiant energy, thereby preventing the luminary from turning all life on our planet into ashes. The properties of the atmosphere change with altitude. For example, at an altitude of 65 km, nitrogen is 86% and oxygen is 19%.

The composition of the Earth's atmosphere

Carbon dioxide essential for plant nutrition. In the atmosphere, it appears as a result of the process of respiration of living organisms, rotting, burning. The absence of it in the composition of the atmosphere would make it impossible for any plants to exist.
Oxygen is a vital component of the atmosphere for humans. Its presence is a condition for the existence of all living organisms. It makes up about 20% of the total volume of atmospheric gases.
Ozone It is a natural absorber of solar ultraviolet radiation, which adversely affects living organisms. Most of it forms a separate layer of the atmosphere - the ozone screen. Recently, human activity has led to the fact that it begins to gradually collapse, but since it is of great importance, active work is underway to preserve and restore it.
water vapor determines the humidity of the air. Its content may vary depending on various factors: air temperature, geographical location, season. At low temperatures, there is very little water vapor in the air, maybe less than one percent, and at high temperatures, its amount reaches 4%.
In addition to all of the above, in the composition of the earth's atmosphere there is always a certain percentage solid and liquid impurities. These are soot, ash, sea salt, dust, water drops, microorganisms. They can get into the air both naturally and by anthropogenic means.

Layers of the atmosphere

And the temperature, and density, and the qualitative composition of the air is not the same at different heights. Because of this, it is customary to distinguish different layers of the atmosphere. Each of them has its own characteristic. Let's find out which layers of the atmosphere are distinguished:

The troposphere is the layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth's surface. Its height is 8-10 km above the poles and 16-18 km in the tropics. Here is 90% of all water vapor that is available in the atmosphere, so there is an active formation of clouds. Also in this layer there are such processes as the movement of air (wind), turbulence, convection. The temperature ranges from +45 degrees at noon in the warm season in the tropics to -65 degrees at the poles.
The stratosphere is the second furthest layer from the atmosphere. It is located at an altitude of 11 to 50 km. In the lower layer of the stratosphere, the temperature is approximately -55, towards the distance from the Earth, it rises to +1˚С. This region is called the inversion and is the boundary between the stratosphere and the mesosphere.
The mesosphere is located at an altitude of 50 to 90 km. The temperature at its lower boundary is about 0, at the upper it reaches -80...-90 ˚С. Meteorites entering the Earth's atmosphere burn out completely in the mesosphere, which causes airglows to occur here.
The thermosphere is about 700 km thick. The northern lights appear in this layer of the atmosphere. They appear due to the action of cosmic radiation and radiation emanating from the Sun.
The exosphere is a zone of air dispersion. Here, the concentration of gases is small and their gradual escape into interplanetary space takes place.

The boundary between the earth's atmosphere and outer space is considered to be a line of 100 km. This line is called the Karman line.

atmospheric pressure

Listening to the weather forecast, we often hear barometric pressure readings. But what does atmospheric pressure mean, and how might it affect us?

We figured out that air consists of gases and impurities. Each of these components has its own weight, which means that the atmosphere is not weightless, as was believed until the 17th century. Atmospheric pressure is the force with which all layers of the atmosphere press on the surface of the Earth and on all objects.

Scientists conducted complex calculations and proved that the atmosphere presses on one square meter of area with a force of 10,333 kg. This means that the human body is subject to air pressure, the weight of which is 12-15 tons. Why don't we feel it? It saves us its internal pressure, which balances the external one. You can feel the pressure of the atmosphere while in an airplane or high in the mountains, since the atmospheric pressure at altitude is much less. In this case, physical discomfort, stuffy ears, dizziness are possible.

A lot can be said about the atmosphere around. We know a lot of interesting facts about her, and some of them may seem surprising:

The weight of the earth's atmosphere is 5,300,000,000,000,000 tons.
It contributes to the transmission of sound. At an altitude of more than 100 km, this property disappears due to changes in the composition of the atmosphere.
The movement of the atmosphere is provoked by uneven heating of the Earth's surface.
A thermometer is used to measure air temperature, and a barometer is used to measure atmospheric pressure.
The presence of an atmosphere saves our planet from 100 tons of meteorites daily.
The composition of the air was fixed for several hundred million years, but began to change with the onset of rapid industrial activity.
It is believed that the atmosphere extends upwards to an altitude of 3000 km.

The value of the atmosphere for humans

The physiological zone of the atmosphere is 5 km. At an altitude of 5000 m above sea level, a person begins to show oxygen starvation, which is expressed in a decrease in his working capacity and a deterioration in well-being. This shows that a person cannot survive in a space where this amazing mixture of gases does not exist.

All information and facts about the atmosphere only confirm its importance for people. Thanks to its presence, the possibility of the development of life on Earth appeared. Already today, having assessed the extent of the harm that mankind is capable of inflicting with its actions on the life-giving air, we should think about further measures to preserve and restore the atmosphere.

The atmosphere is the gaseous envelope of the planet. The gases that make up the Earth's atmosphere are called air. Air is all around us. For humans, air is invisible and often we do not even feel it. But if, for example, we wave our hand, then we will feel that something is in contact with the hand. Another example: stick your hand out the window of a speeding car, and it immediately seems that the air has become dense and elastic. Those who have had the misfortune of being caught in a hurricane will testify that the air can knock you down, rip roofs off houses, turn cars upside down, and uproot even thick trees.

Air is made up of tiny particles called molecules. They cannot be seen even with the most powerful microscope. And the distances between the molecules in the air are much greater than the size of the molecules themselves. Therefore, it is not surprising that we can not see the air.
Air molecules are in constant random motion. But why don't they leave Earth? After all, from the side of space there are no obstacles that could stop them. The fact is that the Earth attracts air molecules to itself in the same way as all other bodies. Therefore, most of the molecules of the atmosphere are near the surface of the Earth.

Aneroid barometer is a compact instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure. For a long time, he also served as the main weather forecaster, pointing to "great land" or "rain and thunderstorms."

The higher above the Earth, the fewer molecules remain in the air - it becomes rarefied. In the mountains, at an altitude of 3000 m above sea level, it is already difficult to breathe. Even trained climbers climb to the highest peak of the planet Everest (8848 m) with oxygen masks. If the passenger of an aircraft flying at an altitude of 10 km breathes in the air outside, he will lose consciousness. Therefore, there are always oxygen masks in the aircraft cabin. After all, if even a tiny hole appears in the fuselage of an aircraft, the air from the cabin will rush outward, where the molecules are located much less densely. (Exactly the same will be done, for example, by passengers of an electric train if, at rush hour, an empty car is connected to a crowded car). As a result, the air in the aircraft will become almost unbreathable. The farther from the Earth's surface, the fewer molecules remain in the air. It is impossible to say for certain where the atmosphere ends. It is generally accepted that the thickness of the Earth's atmosphere reaches several thousand kilometers.

At the highest peak in the world, Everest (8848 m), the air is so rarefied that almost all climbers who managed to reach this record point used oxygen masks.

All life on our planet is concentrated in the lower, densest layers of the atmosphere - the troposphere. Its thickness varies from 8 km at the poles to 17 km at the equator. Of course, the troposphere is not separated from the upper layers by boundary pillars. But in the troposphere, air temperature decreases with height - the higher, the colder, and in the upper atmosphere the temperature changes a little differently.

> > Earth's atmosphere

Description Earth's atmosphere for children of all ages: what air consists of, the presence of gases, photo layers, climate and weather of the third planet in the solar system.

For the little ones It is already known that the Earth is the only planet in our system that has a viable atmosphere. The gas blanket is not only rich in air, but also protects us from excessive heat and solar radiation. Important explain to children that the system is incredibly well designed, because it allows the surface to warm up during the day and cool down at night, while maintaining an acceptable balance.

To begin explanation for children It is possible from the fact that the globe of the earth's atmosphere extends over 480 km, but most of it is located 16 km from the surface. The higher the altitude, the lower the pressure. If we take sea level, then there the pressure is 1 kg per square centimeter. But at an altitude of 3 km, it will change - 0.7 kg per square centimeter. Of course, in such conditions it is more difficult to breathe ( children could feel it if you ever went hiking in the mountains).

The composition of the Earth's air - an explanation for children

Gases include:

Nitrogen - 78%.
Oxygen - 21%.
Argon - 0.93%.
Carbon dioxide - 0.038%.
In small quantities there is also water vapor and other gas impurities.

Atmospheric layers of the Earth - an explanation for children

Parents or teachers at school should be reminded that the earth's atmosphere is divided into 5 levels: exosphere, thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere and troposphere. With each layer, the atmosphere dissolves more and more, until the gases finally disperse into space.

The troposphere is closest to the surface. With a thickness of 7-20 km, it makes up half of the earth's atmosphere. The closer to the Earth, the more the air warms up. Almost all water vapor and dust is collected here. Children may not be surprised that it is at this level that clouds float.

The stratosphere starts from the troposphere and rises 50 km above the surface. There is a lot of ozone here, which heats the atmosphere and saves from harmful solar radiation. The air is 1000 times thinner than above sea level and unusually dry. That is why planes feel great here.

Mesosphere: 50 km to 85 km above the surface. The top is called the mesopause and is the coolest place in the earth's atmosphere (-90°C). It is very difficult to explore because jet planes cannot get there, and the orbital altitude of the satellites is too high. Scientists only know that this is where meteors burn.

Thermosphere: 90 km and between 500-1000 km. The temperature reaches 1500°C. It is considered part of the earth's atmosphere, but it is important explain to children that the air density here is so low that most of it is already perceived as outer space. In fact, this is where the space shuttles and the International Space Station are located. In addition, auroras are formed here. Charged cosmic particles come into contact with atoms and molecules of the thermosphere, transferring them to a higher energy level. Because of this, we see these photons of light in the form of auroras.

The exosphere is the highest layer. Incredibly thin line of the merger of the atmosphere with space. Consists of widely dispersed hydrogen and helium particles.

Climate and weather of the Earth - an explanation for children

For the little ones need explain that the Earth manages to support many living species due to the regional climate, which is characterized by extreme cold at the poles and tropical heat at the equator. Children should know that the regional climate is the weather that in a particular area remains unchanged for 30 years. Of course, sometimes it can change for several hours, but for the most part it remains stable.

In addition, the global terrestrial climate is also distinguished - the average of the regional one. It has changed throughout human history. Today there is a rapid warming. Scientists are sounding the alarm as human-caused greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere, risking turning our planet into Venus.