The Atmosphere

2. A spectacular light display that occurs in the ionosphere near the poles; called the aurora borealis or northern lights in the Northern Hemisphere, and the aurora australis or southern lights in the Southern Hemisphere.
4. Radiation travels in electromagnetic waves; waves that have both electrical and magnetic properties.
5. The ability to work; energy is not created or destroyed but can be transferred from one form to another.
7. The layer of the atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere; temperature decreases with altitude.
9. A heat transfer unit in which warm material rises, cold material sinks, and material moves between the two to create a cell.
10. The second layer of the atmosphere, where temperature increases with altitude due the presence of ozone.
13. The outermost layer of the atmosphere, where gas molecules are extremely far apart and some occasionally escape earth’s gravity and fly off into outer space.
16. A layer of the stratosphere where ozone gas is more highly concentrated.
19. High energy radiation that comes from the Sun; there are three types of UV radiation: UVA, UVB, and UVC. The shortest wavelength, and therefore the most dangerous, is UVC.
20. Heat transfer by the movement of currents.

1. The lowermost layer of the atmosphere.
3. The trapping of heat that is radiated out from the planet's surface by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and moderates a planet's temperatures.
6. An ionized layer contained within the thermosphere; the second to the last layer of the atmosphere.
8. A material that inhibits heat or electricity conduction so that the insulated object stays at its current temperature for longer.
11. The second to the last layer of the atmosphere where gases are extremely thinly distributed.
12. Heat transfer between molecules in motion.
14. The return of a wave from a surface, such as a light wave from a mirror.
15. High-speed protons and electrons that fly through the solar system from the Sun.
17. The amount of light that reflects back off a surface; snow and ice have high albedo.
18. The movement of energy through a material or through space, as carried by electromagnetic waves.