Page 2 - LAYERS OF ATMOSPHERE AND ITS IMPORTANCE

 It extends from a height of about 16 km to 50 km above the earth
surface.
 As we go up from the earth’s surface, the air becomes thinner. Hence, air
in the stratosphere is thinner than that in the troposphere.
 This is the layer where the aeroplanes fly and is also home to most of the
clouds.

3. Mesosphere:

 This is the third and the coldest layer of our atmosphere and extends up
to a height of 80 km above the surface of the Earth.
 Meteoroids that enter the earth’s atmosphere burn up in this layer.

4. Thermosphere:
 This is the fourth and one of the hottest layers of Earth.
 This is where the space shuttles go to study Earth from space.
 The air in this layer is very thin and about 99.9% of the atmosphere is
said to lie below this particular layer.

 Thermosphere also contains the ionosphere. Ionosphere helps in the
transmission of radio waves.

5. Exosphere:

 This is the outermost layer of the atmosphere where molecules and

atoms escape into space.
 Beginning at 480 km above the Earth, this layer then extends into the
space.
 The air in this layer is very thin. No air exists beyond this layer.