Is Air Present Everywhere Around Us?

Is Air Present Everywhere Around Us?

Air is present all around us. We cannot see the air around us but we can feel its presence when the leaves rustle or branches sway.

Importance of Air

  • We need air for breathing.
  • All living beings need air for breathing.
  • We need air to burn something.
  • Life is possible on earth because of air.

The invisible gaseous medium around us, mainly constituted by oxygen and nitrogen is known as air. It is through this air that we are able to carry out the process of respiration. Air is transparent and colourless. It occupies space and is present all around us.

Atmosphere: The thin blanket of air surrounding the surface of the Earth is called the atmosphere.

The atmosphere is divided into five distinct layers on the basis of variations in temperature that changes due to increasing altitude. Air gets scant as we move up in the atmosphere. These are as follows:

  • Troposphere: This is the first layer to the atmosphere which is nearest to the surface and is responsible for weather conditions. The troposphere itself is said to contain about more than 75% of the atmosphere!
  • Stratosphere: This is the layer just above the troposphere which contains the ozone layer and where the aeroplanes fly and is also home to most of the clouds!
  • Mesosphere: This is the third and the coldest layer of our atmosphere and extends to a good 80 km above the surface of the Earth.

  • Thermosphere: This is the fourth and one of the hottest layers of Earth where temperatures go to a 1500o 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.
  • 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.