Atmosphere Vocabulary

7th Grade Earth Science

Directions

• Make 3 columns in your science notebook

• Title the columns WORD, DEFINITION, & SENTENCE

• Write the word in the heading• Write the sentence in the 3rd column• Write the definition in the 2nd column

Atmosphere

• Meteors often burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Atmosphere

• The mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth.

• The outermost layer of Earth.

Weather

• Today’s weather report states that it will be sunny.

Weather

• the condition of the Earth’s atmosphere at a particular time and place.

Ozone

• Scientists are worried that the Earth’s ozone layer is being depleted.

Ozone

• A form of oxygen that has 3 oxygen atoms in each molecule instead of 2.

Water Vapor

• The water vapor in the air is very heavy today.

Water Vapor

• the invisible gaseous form of water

Pollutants

• Cars put a lot of pollutants into the air.

Pollutants

• harmful substances in the air, water, and soil

Photochemical Smog

• The photochemical smog is really bad in Los Angeles.

Photochemical Smog

• a brownish haze that is a mixture of ozone & other chemicals, formed when the chemicals interact with sunlight.

Temperature Inversion

• Las Vegas often has a temperature inversion due to it’s topography.

Temperature Inversion

• weather condition where a layer of warm air prevents the rising air from escaping which traps the polluted air near the Earth’s surface.

Acid Rain

• Acid rain is responsible for the damage to marble statues.

Acid Rain

• rain that is more acidic than normal caused by the release of molecules of sulfur dioxide & nitrogen oxide in the air.

Pressure

• The pressure of air in a balloon makes it expand.

Pressure

• the amount of force pushing on a surface or area.

Air Pressure

• The air pressure is what helps planes to fly.

Air Pressure

• a force that is the result of the weight of a column of air pushing down on an area.

Altitude

• The city of Denver is at a high altitude.

Altitude

• elevation above sea level

Barometer

• A meteorologist uses a barometer to check for thunderstorms.

Barometer

• an instrument used to measure changes in air pressure.