The layers of the air

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   A weather balloon swells from about 2 m to up to 8 m across as it climbs. Why does it grow, Bo?

   • The Sun heats it to 2,000 °C
   • The ozone layer pulls on it
   • The air outside gets thicker
   • Air pressure around it drops
2. 2.

   Esme's friend says temperature drops the whole way from the ground to space. Agree or disagree?

   • Agree: each layer is colder than the one below
   • Agree: the Sun warms just the ground
   • Disagree: it rises the whole way up
   • Disagree: it rises again in two layers

3. Read this first

   Use this

   Cross-section of the atmosphere, not to scale.

5. 3.

   A weather balloon rises from the ground to 35 km. How does the air temperature change on the way, Jun?

   • It rises the whole way up
   • It rises, then falls
   • It falls the whole way up
   • It falls, then rises
6. 4.

   A probe climbs from 60 km to 300 km. How does the air temperature change on that trip, Luz?

   Use the picture in question 3.

   • Colder for the whole trip
   • Hotter at first, then much colder
   • About the same the whole trip
   • Colder at first, then much hotter
7. 5.

   NASA puts the stratosphere from about 12 km to 50 km. About how thick is the stratosphere, Milo?

   • About 62 km
   • About 38 km
   • About 12 km
   • About 50 km
8. 6.

   The mesosphere starts at about 50 km. Its top is about 80 km (NASA) or 85 km (UCAR). About how thick is it, Noah?

   • About 80 to 85 km
   • About 5 km
   • About 130 to 135 km
   • About 30 to 35 km
9. 7.

   UCAR says the troposphere holds about 75% to 80% of the atmosphere's mass. About what share is in all the layers above it, Pia?

   • About 100%
   • About 20% to 25%
   • About 75% to 80%
   • About half
10. 8.

    Why does almost all weather stay in the troposphere, Ren?

    • Weather needs ozone to form
    • The stratosphere has more clouds than the troposphere
    • About 99% of the water vapor is there
    • It is the thinnest layer of air
11. 9.

    Why does the troposphere get colder as you go higher in it, Tala?

    • It is thicker higher up
    • Ozone warms its lowest part
    • The Sun warms it from the top down
    • Its heat comes mostly from the ground below
12. 10.

    Ozone warms the air as it absorbs ultraviolet light. If that ozone thinned, which layer would warm less, Zee?

    • The thermosphere
    • The stratosphere
    • The troposphere
    • The mesosphere