Why is the air in the atmosphere cold?

The reason it is “cold” in the upper atmosphere is actually because of a lower air density. Remember that our concept of “temperature” as measured by a thermometer is actually the energy of the collisions between atoms. This motion is a form of kinetic energy. Things that moves and have mass have kinetic energy.

What happens to the air higher up in the atmosphere?

As an airplane travels higher into the atmosphere, air pressure decreases. The higher an airplane goes, the less dense the atmosphere becomes.

Why is it cold at the top of a mountain?

At the top of a mountain, air cools because as air rises it cools. If the air pressure is 1000 millibar, that is because there is approximately 10 tonnes of air above every square metre of ground. This air pressure is literally pressing down on everything. This includes squeezing the air near the ground.

Why is it colder at higher altitude when technically it is closer to the sun Brainly?

At higher altitudes, the air is thinner. Without this atmosphere, Earth would be uninhabitably cold. So, even though higher altitude areas are closer to the sun, they have less ability to absorb the warmth of the sun because they have less of these gases.

What happens to the temperature of air when altitude increases?

As you increase in elevation, there is less air above you thus the pressure decreases. As the pressure decreases, air molecules spread out further (i.e. air expands), and the temperature decreases.

Why is it colder at higher altitudes if heat rises?

The basic answer is that the farther away you get from the earth, the thinner the atmosphere gets. The total heat content of a system is directly related to the amount of matter present, so it is cooler at higher elevations.

Why is colder at higher altitudes if heat rises?

Why is it colder at a higher altitude when technically it is closer to the sun?

Why does temperature increase with altitude through the stratosphere?

Temperature in the stratosphere rises with increasing altitude, because the ozone layer absorbs the greater part of the solar ultraviolet radiation. The ozone layer is an absorbing agent that protects life on Earth.

Why is the air temperature lower at higher altitudes?

As you go to higher altitudes, there are less air molecules pushing down on you (lower pressure). When the pressure of a gas decreases, the temperature also decreases (the reverse is also true – when the gas pressure increases, the temperature increases). Therefore, the air temperature is lower at higher altitudes.

Why is it colder at the top of the atmosphere?

Answer. The reason it’s actually colder is because, as you go up in the atmosphere, the Earth’s atmosphere feels less pressure the higher up you go. So as the gas in the atmosphere rises it feels less pressure, which makes it expand. When the gas expands it does some work. And and if it’s doing work, it must be losing some energy;

Why is it harder to breathe at higher altitudes?

At higher altitudes, the air is thinner. That’s why it’s harder to breathe at high altitudes–there’s less oxygen. There’s also less of everything else–carbon dioxide, water vapor, etc. These gases, which are greenhouse gases, are the part of our atmosphere which keep Earth at a warm temperature compared to outer space.

How does convection change the temperature of the atmosphere?

The heat from the surface of Earth gets transferred to the adjacent air, which warms up slowly to form thermal convection. In thermal convection, since air moves vertically up in the atmosphere, it expands due to low atmospheric pressure, this expansion causes cooling of the vertically moving air.