We are lucky to have an atmosphere on Earth. The atmosphere supports life, and is also needed for the water cycle and weather. The gases of the atmosphere even allow us to hear. Most of the atmosphere is nitrogen, but it doesnt do much. Carbon dioxide and oxygen are the gases in the atmosphere that are needed for life. Plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. They use sunlight to change carbon dioxide and water into food. The process releases oxygen. Without photosynthesis, there would be very little oxygen in the air. Other living things depend on plants for food. These organisms need the oxygen plants release to get energy out of the food. Even plants need oxygen for this purpose. The atmosphere protects living things from the Suns most harmful rays. Gases reflect or absorb the strongest rays of sunlight. Figure 15.1 models this role of the atmosphere. Gases in the atmosphere surround Earth like a blanket. They keep the temperature in a range that can support life. The gases keep out some of the Suns scorching heat during the day. At night, they hold the heat close to the surface, so it doesnt radiate out into space. Figure 15.2 shows the role of the atmosphere in the water cycle. Water vapor rises from Earths surface into the atmosphere. As it rises, it cools. The water vapor may then condense into water droplets and form clouds. If enough water droplets collect in clouds they may fall as rain. This how freshwater gets from the atmosphere back to Earths surface. Without the atmosphere, there would be no clouds or rain. In fact, there would be no weather at all. Most weather occurs because the atmosphere heats up more in some places than others. Weather makes life interesting. Weather also causes weathering. Weathering is the slow wearing down of rocks on Earths surface. Wind-blown sand scours rocks like sandpaper. Glaciers of ice scrape across rock surfaces like a file. Even gentle rain may seep into rocks and slowly dissolve them. If the water freezes, it expands. This eventually causes the rocks to crack. Without the atmosphere, none of this weathering would happen. Sound is a form of energy that travels in waves. Sound waves cant travel through empty space, but they can travel through gases. Gases in the air allow us to hear most of the sounds in our world. Because of air, you can hear birds singing, horns tooting, and friends laughing. Without the atmosphere, the world would be a silent, eerie place. Air is easy to forget about. We usually cant see it, taste it, or smell it. We can only feel it when it moves. But air is actually made of molecules of many different gases. It also contains tiny particles of solid matter. Figure 15.3 shows the main gases in air. Nitrogen and oxygen make up 99 percent of air. Argon and carbon dioxide make up much of the rest. These percentages are the same just about everywhere in the atmosphere. Air also includes water vapor. The amount of water vapor varies from place to place. Thats why water vapor isnt included in Figure 15.3. It can make up as much as 4 percent of the air. Ozone is a molecule made of three oxygen atoms. Ozone collects in a layer in the stratosphere. Air includes many tiny particles. The particles may consist of dust, soil, salt, smoke, or ash. Some particles pollute the air and may make it unhealthy to breathe. But having particles in the air is very important. Tiny particles are needed for water vapor to condense on. Without particles, water vapor could not condense. Then clouds could not form and Earth would have no rain. We usually cant sense the air around us unless it is moving. But air has the same basic properties as other matter. For example, air has mass, volume and, of course, density. Density is mass per unit volume. Density is a measure of how closely molecules are packed together. The closer together they are, the greater the density. Since air
Output: main gas in Earths atmosphere