Homeschool Science Lesson: Teach About Atmosphere & Air Pressure

This lesson fits into the category of Earth Science. This homeschool science lesson guide is designed to assist the homeschool family teach and learn subject matter pertaining to the Earth's atmosphere, including air pressure. This homeschool science lesson guide is written to be most useful to the homeschool family with students currently working in elementary and middle grade level science material. If your homeschool student is ready to cover the topic of Earth's atmosphere and air pressure, use this homeschool science lesson guide to assist them in gaining a basic understanding of these topics.

What is atmosphere anyway? Explain to your homeschool student that just as the Earth is made up of layers, so is the air surrounding it. When we talk about atmosphere, we mean these layers of air surrounding the Earth. Help your homeschool student to understand that just as the layers of the Earth are separate from each other and made of different substances, so are the layers of air that make up the Earth's atmosphere. There are 5 layers of air to become familiar with in this homeschool science lesson. These layers are called, troposphere, tropopause, stratosphere, ozone, and ionosphere.

Troposphere: The layer of air that is closest to the Earth's surface is called the troposphere. This layer of the atmosphere is 6 miles thick at the North and South Poles, and 10 miles thick at the equator. The air in the troposphere is the air we breathe. You might think that means that the troposphere is made up mostly of oxygen, but that's not true. This layer of the atmosphere is actually only about one fifth oxygen! A small amount of the troposphere is made up of argon, carbon dioxide, and other gases. The rest of the troposphere, almost four fifths of it, is made up of a gas called nitrogen.

Tropopause: The tropopause is the layer at the top of the troposphere. This layer of the atmosphere does not contain enough oxygen for living things to survive.