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Grade 9 · Science · Earth and Space Science

9th grade Layers of the atmosphere worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

Level: Building Confidence · On Level · Challenge Me

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Layers of the atmosphere

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Read this first

    Layer bases (about, NOAA)

    LayerStarts at (km)
    Troposphere0
    Stratosphere11
    Mesosphere50
    Thermosphere85

  2. A balloon rises to 30 km. Ari reads the table. Which layer is it in, and which comes next?

    • Stratosphere now, troposphere next
    • Troposphere now, stratosphere next
    • Mesosphere now, thermosphere next
    • Stratosphere now, mesosphere next

  3. US Standard Atmosphere

    Height (km)Temperature (°C)Pressure (hPa)
    015.01,013.25
    11-56.5226.32
    47-2.51.11
    71-58.50.04

  4. Bo reads four heights from the table. Which layer lies between 11 and 47 km?

    • The troposphere, where temperature rises with height
    • The mesosphere, where temperature rises with height
    • The stratosphere, where temperature rises with height
    • The thermosphere, where temperature rises with height

  5. Kira climbs from the ground to 100 km. The layers change at about 11, 50 and 85 km. How many boundaries are crossed?

    • Two, at about 11 and 85 km
    • Three, at about 11, 50 and 85 km
    • Three, at about 11, 30 and 60 km
    • Four, at about 11, 50, 85 and 100 km

  6. US Standard Atmosphere

    Height (km)Temperature (°C)Pressure (hPa)
    015.01,013.25
    11-56.5226.32
    20-56.554.75
    32-44.58.68
    47-2.51.11
    51-2.50.67
    71-58.50.04

  7. Luz scans all seven rows. At which height is the air coldest, and in which layer?

    • 11 km, in the troposphere
    • 71 km, in the thermosphere
    • 20 km, in the stratosphere
    • 71 km, in the mesosphere

  8. Temperature rises with height through the stratosphere. What does Milo say heats the air there?

    • Ozone absorbs ultraviolet light and warms the air
    • Clouds in the stratosphere release heat as they form
    • The layer is closer to the Sun than the layers below it
    • Warm air rising from the ground heats it directly

  9. Four events and their heights (example)

    EventHeight (km)
    Jet airliner cruising11
    Weather balloon bursting30
    Meteor glowing80
    Space station orbiting400

  10. Noah sorts the events by layer. Which event happens in the mesosphere (about 50 to 85 km)?

    • The meteor glowing at 80 km
    • The jet airliner cruising at 11 km
    • The space station orbiting at 400 km
    • The weather balloon bursting at 30 km

  11. Ozone by height (example data)

    Height (km)Ozone (ppm)
    100.3
    257
    405

  12. Pia finds where ozone is greatest. Which layer holds the most ozone?

    • The troposphere, where ozone peaks near 10 km
    • The mesosphere, where ozone peaks near 40 km
    • The stratosphere, where ozone peaks near 25 km
    • The thermosphere, where ozone peaks near 25 km

  13. US Standard Atmosphere

    Height (km)Temperature (°C)Pressure (hPa)
    015.01,013.25
    11-56.5226.32

  14. Temperature falls from 15 °C to −56.5 °C in the first 11 km. Ren explains why storms stay in that layer. Which reason fits?

    • Pressure rises with height, which pushes clouds back toward the ground
    • Ozone near 11 km heats the air and drives the storms
    • Warm air near the ground rises and mixes with the colder air above it
    • Warm air above the ground sinks and mixes with the colder air below it

  15. Dry air by volume (NOAA)

    GasShare (%)
    Nitrogen78.08
    Oxygen20.95
    Argon0.93
    Carbon dioxide0.04

  16. Tala adds up nitrogen and oxygen. About what share of dry air is neither one?

    • About 0.04%, mostly carbon dioxide
    • About 21%, mostly oxygen
    • About 22%, mostly argon
    • About 1%, mostly argon

  17. Use this

    Oxygen is 20.95% of dry air at every height shown. Pressure at 11 km is 226.32 hPa. Partial pressure of oxygen = share × pressure.

  18. Zee works out how much of the pressure at 11 km is oxygen. What is it?

    • About 47 hPa, because the share stays near 21% while the pressure falls
    • About 4.7 hPa, because the share drops to 2.1% at 11 km
    • About 226 hPa, because the whole of the air at 11 km is oxygen
    • About 212 hPa, because 21% of the ground pressure is still there
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9th grade Layers of the atmosphere worksheet – printable
Print: 123456

About this worksheet

Name the layers of the atmosphere and what air is made of. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can read the US Standard Atmosphere table (height, temperature, pressure), name the layer at a height, and find where cooling stops (the tropopause).
  • I can compute temperature changes per kilometer and explain why temperature falls, rises, falls and rises again with height (ground heating, ozone, little ozone, extreme ultraviolet).
  • I can work with air composition, ppm and partial pressure, and see why the share of oxygen stays 21% while a breath holds less at altitude.
  • I can use pressure to find the share of air above a height, test a halving model, compute density, and weigh evidence about what heats a layer.

Standard: none (TX)

Words to know

troposphere: The lowest layer, where almost all weather happens

stratosphere: The layer above, holding the ozone layer; it warms with height

mesosphere: The middle layer, where most meteors burn up

thermosphere: A very thin, hot upper layer

tropopause: The boundary between the troposphere and stratosphere

Common mistakes

Your child put the layers out of order. NOAA: from the ground up, troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere.

Your child had temperature fall at every height. NOAA: it falls through the troposphere, rises through the stratosphere, falls through the mesosphere and rises in the thermosphere.

Your child gave a layer the wrong job. NOAA: weather in the troposphere, the ozone layer in the stratosphere, meteors burning in the mesosphere, satellites in the exosphere.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with layers of the atmosphere?

Your child put the layers out of order. NOAA: from the ground up, troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere.

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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