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6th grade The layers of the air worksheet

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The layers of the air

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. The thermosphere can reach 2,000 °C. Ari's friend says it must feel very hot up there. Agree or disagree?

    • Agree: 2,000 °C air would feel very hot
    • Disagree: the thermosphere is below zero
    • Agree: it is the layer nearest the Sun
    • Disagree: the air is so thin it would feel cold

  2. 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

  3. Read this first

    Use this

    Cross-section of the atmosphere, not to scale.

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

    • It falls, then rises
    • It rises, then falls
    • It rises the whole way up
    • It falls the whole way up

  6. 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
    • About the same the whole trip
    • Hotter at first, then much colder
    • Colder at first, then much hotter

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

    • About 50 km
    • About 12 km
    • About 38 km
    • About 62 km

  8. 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 5 km
    • About 30 to 35 km
    • About 80 to 85 km
    • About 130 to 135 km

  9. 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 20% to 25%
    • About half
    • About 75% to 80%
    • About 100%

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

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

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

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

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

    • The troposphere
    • The stratosphere
    • The mesosphere
    • The thermosphere
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6th grade The layers of the air worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

The layers of the air. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can name the five layers in order from the ground up.
  • I can read how temperature changes with height: falls, rises, falls, rises.
  • I can say where weather, the ozone layer, meteors and the space station are, and explain why the air is thinner higher up.

Standard: none (IXL parity)

Words to know

atmosphere: The blanket of gases around Earth

troposphere: The lowest layer, where we live and almost all weather happens

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

mesosphere: The middle layer, where most meteors burn up; coldest near its top

thermosphere: A very thin, very hot layer where the space station orbits

exosphere: The outermost layer, fading into space

Common mistakes

Your child mixed up the order of the air's layers. From the ground up: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere. Try a made-up sentence with the first letters, T-S-M-T-E.

Your child expected the air to get colder all the way up. It cools through the troposphere, then warms in the stratosphere, cools in the mesosphere and warms in the thermosphere. Try tracing the zigzag on a drawing together.

Your child put something in the wrong layer. Weather is in the troposphere, the ozone layer in the stratosphere, most meteors burn up in the mesosphere, and the space station orbits in the thermosphere.

Questions parents ask

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

Your child mixed up the order of the air's layers. From the ground up: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere. Try a made-up sentence with the first letters, T-S-M-T-E.

Are these 6th 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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