Aim: What are Earth

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Aim What are Earths Spheres?
I. Earths Spheres
A. Atmosphere composed of the materials
(solids, liquids, and gases) that form a thin
envelope surrounding the earth, held in place by
gravitation.
1.Stratified (layers) Zones of Atmosphere
a. Troposphere lowest region of atmosphere
between the earths surface and the tropopause
characterized by decreasing temperature with
increasing altitude.
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b. Stratosphere region above the troposphere
and below the mesosphere, where temperature
increases with altitude.
c. Mesosphere portion of the atmosphere from
about 30 to 80 Km above the Earths surface,
characterized by temperatures that decrease from
10oC to 90oC with increasing altitude.
d. Thermosphere outermost shell between the
mesosphere and outer space, where temperatures
increase with altitude.
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B. Hydrosphere water layer of earth
1. Includes all bodies of water (salt-containing
oceans) and fresh (inland lakes and rivers).
2. Covers approximately 71 of the Earths
surface.
C. Lithosphere the most solid portion of the
earth is the rock near the earths surface and is
a continuous solid shell under the hydrosphere.