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Chapter 1

Earth's 

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is the envelope of gases that surround Earth. It 

protects us from the vacuum of outer space, electromagnetic radiation 

from the sun and small objects flying through space such as 

meteoroids. It also holds the oxygen we need to survive. A majority of 

the atmosphere is made up of nitrogen molecules. However, it also 

contains the carbon dioxide plants need to survive and the oxygen we 

need. It is broken up into layers in which different things happen. 

The exosphere layer is the thinnest and farthest away from Earth. This 

is where many of the satellites orbit Earth. 

The next layer is the thermosphere. This layer has a high temperature 

and high energy caused by solar radiation. Although the temperature 

is high here, there is actually very little heat because the atoms are so 

spread out. This is where the space station and other spacecraft spend 

most of their time and where aurora borealis (northern lights) and 

aurora australis (southern lights) occur. 

The mesosphere has the lowest temperature and is the coldest layer 

of the atmosphere. This is where most meteors burn up when they 

enter the atmosphere. We sometimes see these and call them 

'shooting stars'. The ones that do make it through are then called 

meteorites. 

The next layer down in the stratosphere. This layer has a very large 

change in temperature, changing from cold and getting up to 0 

degrees Celsius which is very warm in the atmosphere. Weather 

balloons, military aircraft and spy aircraft fly in this layer. This layer 

also includes the ozone layer, or ozonosphere, which is very important 

to life on Earth. 

The ozonosphere protects us from much of the suns harmful UV 

(ultraviolet) rays. Ozone molecules actually capture the UV rays and 

change them into IR (infrared) radiation. Without this layer, the 

stratosphere would be much cooler. Due to overwhelming amounts of 

pollution, a ozone hole has occurred.

he layer closest to Earth is known as the troposphere. This is where 

we live, weather occurs,   clouds develops, hot air balloons, commercial 

jets, and birds fly, and pollution collects. This layer has lots of water 

vapor in it.

Chapter 2

Earth's Layers

Although scientists have never studied any materials from the Earth at 

a deeper depth than 7 miles, they have other ways of studying the 

matter. The most important tool for studying deep beneath Earth's 

surface are seismic waves. These are waves of energy caused either 

by earthquakes or by massive man-made explosions. Scientists are 

able to measure these waves as the pass through the Earth. As the 

waves encounter different materials, getting longer, shorter, slower or 

faster. This provides scientists with valuable information. Geologists 

are scientists that study what the Earth is made of and how is was 

formed. Geologists have also been able to use Earth's magnetic field to 

help determine was is under the surface. There are four distinct layers 

known as the crust, mantle, the outer core and the inner core. 

Although there are other special layers known as the athenosphere, 

lithosphere and a difference between continental crust and oceanic 

crust. 

The first ten miles down into the Earth is known as the crust. This layer is made up 

of rocks and other loose materials. The continental crust, which is the land we live 

on, is almost 3 times as thick as it is in under the oceans. The continental crust is 

made up of rocks that consist primarily of silica and alumina called the "sial".

Beyond the crust is the mantle. This layer extends to approximately 

1,800 miles beneath the surface. It is made of a thick, solid, rocky 

substance that represents about 85% of the total weight and mass of 

the Earth. It's made up of slightly different silicate rocks with more 

magnesium and iron.

The lithosphere or tectonic plates are a combination of crust and outer 

mantle.  

Next is the Earth's outer core which extends about 3,000 miles 

beneath the surface. It is believed that this layer is compromised of 

liquid molten lava. This lave is made up of iron and nickel and is very 

hot (4,400 to 5,000+ degrees C). The outer core is very important to 

earth as it creates something called a magnetic field. The magnetic 

field the outer core creates goes way out in to space and makes a 

protective barrier around the earth that shields us from the sun's 

damaging solar wind. 

The Earth's inner core is made up of iron and nickel, just like the outer 

core, however, the inner core is different. The inner core is so deep 

within the earth that it's under immense pressure. So much pressure 

that, even though it is so hot, it is solid. The inner core is the hottest 

part of the Earth, and, at over 5,000 degrees C, is about as hot as the 

surface of the sun. 

Chapter 3 

Water Cycle

Water exists as either a solid, liquid, or gas. The gas stage of water is 

known as vapor. Any water that we interact with today has been 

around pretty much as long as the Earth has. The Earth only has a 

limited amount of water. It keeps moving around and around in the 

water cycle. This cycle is made up of a few different stages; 

evaporation (and transpiration), condensation, precipitation, runoff, 

and collection.

Evaporation is when the sun heats up water molecules in rivers, lakes, 

or oceans and it turns the water into vapor. Plants sweat, or transpire, 

which also lends to the vapor.

Condensation is when water vapor gets so cold that it turns back into 

liquid, which forms clouds. You can see condensation on you glass 

during a warm day. This water did not somehow seep through the 

glass but the vapor in the air was made cold enough when it hit it to 

turn back into liquid. The dew point of water allows this water to 

collect on glass, leaves, and pretty much everything else. Dew is the 

accumulation of water that you can see. Humidity is something that 

often accompanies many of the different types of storms. Essentially, 

humidity is the moisture, or water vapor, in the air. There are 3 ways 

to measure humidity; relative humidity, specific humidity and absolute 

humidity. Specific and absolute humidity measure the exact number of 

water molecules in the air while relative humidity measures how much 

is in the air versus how much could be in the air. 

Precipitation occurs when so much water has condensed in the clouds 

that they can no longer hold it in. This is what causes rain, hail, sleet 

and snow.

Runoff occurs when the excess water cannot soak into the ground or 

soil. Instead it rolls off the hills and mountains into lower lands, 

collecting in rivers, lakes and the ocean.This happens when it rains or 

snow melts. The water that soaks into the ground becomes part of the 

water table which provides water for people, plants and animals. 

Collection is when this rain, hail, sleet, or snow water collects into the 

rivers, lakes, streams and oceans.

Chapter 4

Weather and 

Natural Disasters

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards 

heat, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc. Natural disasters are a 

natural events such as a floods, earthquakes, or hurricanes that cause 

great damage or loss of life. Many natural disasters are caused by the 

weather.

Temperature is a good place to start when talking about weather. 

Temperature is the measurement of heat. Everyone knows what cold 

and heat feel like, but what are they really? Cold is actually just the 

absence of heat. Since temperature measures heat, when the 

temperature is low we say it is cold.

Heat is actually a form of energy. In any object with heat, tiny 

particles and constantly vibrating and bumping into one another. 

When something feels hot, the vibrations of the molecules, are 

transferred to our skin, making it feel hot. We usually use 

thermometers in order to measure the temperature. The freezing 

point of water on the Celsius scale is 0 °(written as 0 °C.) and the 

freezing point of water on the Fahrenheit scale is 32 °(written as 32 

°F.)This is important when discussing weather. 

Wind is the result of air moving around in the atmosphere caused by 

changes in pressure. Cool air is heavier than hot air which can create 

an area of high pressure while hot air will create an area of low 

pressure. This is what will cause wind. The greater the difference 

between the temperature of the two areas of pressure, the faster the 

wind will blow.

Precipitation, as we talked about before, is rain, sleet, hail or snow. 

These fall from the clouds of which there are 3 main types. Cumulus 

clouds are the big puffy white clouds. They look like floating cotton. 

Sometimes they can turn into cumulonimbus or tall towering cumulus 

clouds. These clouds are thunderstorm clouds. Cirrus clouds are high, 

thin clouds made of ice crystals. They generally mean good weather is 

on the way. Stratus clouds are the low flat and large clouds that tend 

to cover the entire sky. They give us those "overcast" days and can 

drop light rain called drizzle. Fog is a cloud that forms right at the 

surface of the Earth.

Acid rain, however, is not as good as regular rain. In fact, acid rain 

can destroy forests instead of making them grow and will poison the 

animals living in rivers and lakes. Acid rain occurs when the rain forms 

in polluted air. There is so much nitrogen and sulfur in the air, that it 

condenses with the water to form acid rain.

Floods also occur because of rain. Floods are when large amounts of 

rain water or runoff overflows its normal confines. Basically, floods 

happen when rivers, streams, lake, or gutters overflow with water. 

Floods are extremely dangerous. Sometime we will build a levee, a 

type of barrier, in order to keep water from overflowing it's boundaries 

or to keep people and homes safe. A flood plain is an area of low-lying 

ground adjacent to a river, formed mainly of river sediments and 

subject to flooding. A drought is basically the opposite of flooding. It 

means the absence of water for a long period of time, at a place where 

it is considered not normal compared to its usual conditions. 

El Niño is a phase of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle when 

there is an abnormal warming of surface temperatures in the Eastern 

tropical Pacific part of the ocean.   Basically this is a way for rainstorms 

to be made. 

Landslides take place when dirt, pebbles, rocks and boulders slide 

down a slope together. Sometimes these landslides are small, and 

hardly noticeable. Other times however, they can be substantial, 

involving the entire side of a mountain. Landslides are often caused by 

rainfall adding weight to the side of a slope. However, they can also 

happen without rain.

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