Name: ______________________________________________________ Date: _________________
Atmosphere Remediation
Composition of Air
1. What are the 2 gases that make up most of the atmosphere? Include the percentage for each.
2. What do you notice about how high Graham is compared to Mount Mitchell and Mount
Everest? What does this tell you about altitude?
3. What do you notice happens to the number of air molecules as altitude increases? Give
example evidence to support your answer.
4. What is the relationship between the altitude of a mountain and the air pressure at the top of it?
Give example evidence to support your answer.
Layers of the Atmosphere
5. How did scientists decide where to divide up the layers of the atmosphere? Give example
evidence to support your answer.
6. Imagine you are an astronaut about to launch into space. Describe what you would
see as you go through each layer of the atmosphere on your way to the moon. You
will need to write your answer on a separate sheet of notebook paper.
Ultraviolet Radiation (also known as UV rays)
Read the following information on ultraviolet radiation and then answer the question.
The ozone in the stratosphere protects life on Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Ozone
depletion can cause increased amounts of UV radiation to reach the Earth which can lead to more cases of skin
cancer, cataracts, and impaired immune systems. Overexposure to UV is believed to be contributing to the
increase in melanoma, the most fatal of all skin cancers. Since 1990, the risk of developing melanoma has more
than doubled. UV can also damage sensitive crops, such as soybeans, and reduce crop yields. Some scientists
suggest that marine phytoplankton, which are the base of the ocean food chain, are already under stress from
UV radiation. This stress could have adverse consequences for human food supplies from the oceans.
7. Why is the ozone layer important to life on earth? What would happen if we didn’t have the
ozone layer in the stratosphere?