Where in the Air Classroom Activity — Educator Guide

What Is This About?

This lesson helps students learn about the layers of the atmosphere (the air that wraps around Earth, in different levels or layers). Students will also learn what kinds of things — like birds, planes, and satellites — can be found in each layer.

What Students Will Learn To Do

• Name the layers of the atmosphere and know which one is on top of which.
• Figure out which layer different objects belong in.

Getting Ready

• Print one worksheet for each student.
• Print enough information sheets so every student gets a copy about their group's object.
• The information sheets are written at different levels, so all students can read one that fits them.

What You Need

• One worksheet per student
• One information sheet per group or student
• The "Earth's Atmospheric Layers" picture (you can find it on NASA's website)

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Steps To Follow

1. Teach about the atmosphere. Use a fun activity or video to teach (or review) the layers of the atmosphere. You can also talk about Earth's other "spheres," like the icy parts (cryosphere), the water (hydrosphere), and living things (biosphere).

1. Make small groups. Split students into groups of two or three. If your class is small, students can work alone instead.

1. Give each group an object. Each group gets one object to study, like a hot air balloon or a satellite. Give every student in the group a copy of the information sheet about their object. If a group finishes early, give them a second object.

1. Fill in Part 1. Students read their sheet and fill in Part 1 of the worksheet with facts about their object.

1. Share with the class. For Part 2, each group tells the class what they learned. While one group talks, everyone else writes down what they hear on their own worksheet.

1. Get ready for the diagram. Once Part 2 is done, students will have enough facts to do Part 3 — labeling a diagram of the atmosphere.

1. Finish the diagram. Each student uses what they learned to fill in Part 3 on their own.

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"Where in the Air?" Student Worksheet — Answer Key

Part 1

(Answers will be different for each student.)

Part 2

Now that you've learned about one object, it's time to learn about the others! Other groups will share what they learned. Write down what they say. Don't forget to also add facts about your own object. Some objects on the list might not get covered — that's okay.

Object	How High Up?	Layer of the Atmosphere	What Is It?
1. Armstrong Line	62,000 ft (19 km)	Stratosphere	This is the height where liquids would boil at your body's normal temperature. People need a special pressure suit up here.
2. Birds	500–29,000 ft (0.15–8.8 km)	Troposphere	Birds fly at different heights depending on how big they are and where they're going.
3. Clouds	0–60,000 ft (0–18 km)	Troposphere & Lower Stratosphere	Clouds are made of tiny bits of water or ice floating in the air. Different kinds of clouds float at different heights.
4. Commercial Jetliner	32,000–39,000 ft (9.8–11.4 km)	Troposphere	These planes carry people and cargo long distances. They fly so high that people need extra oxygen to breathe.
5. Communication Satellite	100–22,000 miles (160–36,000 km)	Thermosphere & Exosphere	These satellites catch, boost, and send out signals so people can talk to each other over long distances.
6. ER-2	65,000–70,000 ft (20–21 km)	Stratosphere	This plane flies slowly but very high, so scientists use it for research.
7. Fighter Aircraft (F-35)	60,000 ft (18 km)	Stratosphere	These planes are super fast and can turn quickly. Pilots wear special suits because of the strong forces they feel.
8. Hang Glider	12,000–15,000 ft (3.7–4.6 km)	Troposphere	These are aircraft with no engine. They let people glide long distances through the air.
9. Helicopter	0–25,000 ft (0–7.6 km)	Troposphere	Helicopters use spinning blades called rotors to lift off. They can take off and land straight up and down.
10. Hot Air Balloon	1,200–2,000 ft (0.4–0.6 km)	Troposphere	These balloons are filled with hot air. Since hot air is lighter than cool air, the balloon rises and carries people with it.
11. Hubble Space Telescope	340 miles (450 km)	Thermosphere	This telescope circles Earth and looks at things far out in space.
12. International Space Station	250 miles (400 km)	Thermosphere	People live and do science experiments on this station as it circles Earth.
13. James Webb Space Telescope	930,000 miles (1,500,000 km)	Beyond Exosphere	This telescope, set to launch in 2021, can see very far-away things in space.
14. Lunar Gateway	239,000 miles (384,000 km)	Beyond Exosphere	The Gateway will circle the Moon. It will be a stopping point for trips to the Moon's surface.
15. Meteors (Shooting Stars)	40–60 miles (65–97 km)	Mesosphere	Meteors are small pieces of asteroids or comets that enter Earth's atmosphere.
16. Model Rockets	190–1,000 ft (0.06–0.3 km)	Troposphere	These are small rockets people can build and launch themselves.
17. Mount Everest	29,029 ft (8.8 km)	Troposphere	This is the tallest mountain on Earth.
18. Ozone Layer	10–30 miles (15–50 km)	Stratosphere	This part of the stratosphere soaks up some of the Sun's harmful rays.
19. Parachutist	13,000 ft (4 km)	Troposphere	The highest parachute jump ever was 135,908 ft (41.1 km) — that's in the mesosphere! Parachutes use air resistance to slow down a fall.
20. Small Airplane (Cessna)	2,500–9,500 ft (0.8–2.9 km)	Troposphere	These small planes only carry a few people at a time.
21. Small UAV (drone)	400 ft (0.1 km)	Troposphere	Drones fly below 400 feet and can do many jobs, like delivering packages or taking photos from the sky.
22. Sounding Rocket	75 miles (12 km)	Thermosphere	These rockets don't go all the way into orbit. They carry science experiments instead.
23. Weather	0–9 miles (0–14 km)	Troposphere	Weather means what the air is doing in a place at a certain time — like rain, sun, or wind.
24. Weather Balloon	25 miles (40 km)	Stratosphere	These balloons collect weather information as they float up. Eventually, they pop and fall back down.
25. X-57 Maxwell	8,000–14,000 ft (2.4–4.3 km)	Troposphere	This plane runs on batteries. NASA built it to test electric-powered flight.
26. X-59 QueSST	55,000 ft (16.8 km)	Stratosphere	NASA is testing if this plane can fly faster than sound without making a loud "sonic boom" noise.

Part 3

Look at the picture of the atmosphere's layers. Write the name of each layer in the blanks. Then write the names of the objects you learned about in the correct layer. If there's time, draw a picture for each object too!

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Layer Information Sheets

Troposphere

How high up? From the ground to about 5 miles (8 km) up — this changes with weather and seasons.

• This is the most complicated layer because so many things affect it at once.
• Temperatures change with the seasons, weather, and how unevenly the Sun heats Earth's surface.
• The higher you go, the colder it gets.
• Temperature, air pressure, and how thick the air is are all connected.
• All the water vapor (water floating in the air) in the atmosphere is found here.
• This layer gets taller in summer and shorter in winter.
• The air here is made of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and small bits of other gases.
• The higher you go, the lower the air pressure gets — because gravity pulls less, and there's less air pushing down from above.
• This is the thickest, most packed layer of air.
• About 75% of all the air in the atmosphere is here.
• At the ground, air pressure is 14.7 pounds per square inch.

What objects are found here?
A. Birds
B. Clouds
C. Commercial Jetliner
D. Hang Glider
E. Helicopter
F. Hot Air Balloon
G. Model Rocket
H. Mount Everest
I. Parachutist
J. Small Airplane (Cessna)
K. Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
L. Weather
M. X-57 Maxwell

How far from Earth's surface?
A. 500 feet (0.2 km)
B. 0–20,000 feet (0–6 km)
C. 32,000–39,000 feet (9.8–11.4 km)
D. 5,000–10,000 feet (1.5–3 km)
E. 11,000 feet (3.4 km)
F. 2,000 feet (0.6 km)
G. 1,000 feet (0.3 km)
H. 29,029 feet (8.8 km)
I. 13,000 feet (4 km)
J. 9,500 feet (2.9 km)
K. 400 feet (0.1 km)
L. All through the troposphere
M. 8,000–14,000 feet (2.4–4.3 km)

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Stratosphere

How high up? From 5 to 31 miles (8–50 km).

• This layer has the ozone layer in it (about 6–20 miles up). Ozone is a gas that blocks some of the Sun's harmful rays from reaching Earth.
• The higher you go here, the warmer it gets — because the ozone layer soaks up the Sun's energy.
• The air is very calm here — no bumpy turbulence.
• There are almost no clouds or weather in this layer.

What objects are found here?
A. Armstrong Limit
B. ER-2
C. Fighter Aircraft (F-35)
D. Ozone Layer
E. Weather Balloon
F. X-59 QueSST

How far from Earth's surface?
A. 62,000 feet (19 km)
B. 70,000 feet (21.3 km)
C. 60,000 feet (18 km)
D. 10–30 miles (24–48 km)
E. 25 miles (40 km)
F. 55,000 feet (16.8 km)

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Mesosphere

How high up? From 31 to 53 miles (50–85 km).

• The higher you go, the colder it gets — down to -100°C (-148°F)!
• This is the coldest layer of the whole atmosphere — even colder than the coldest spot ever recorded in Antarctica.
• Meteors usually burn up while passing through this layer.
• Scientists don't know a whole lot about this layer yet.

What objects are found here?
A. Meteors (Shooting Stars)

How far from Earth's surface?
A. 40–60 miles (64–97 km)

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Thermosphere

How high up? From 53 to 372 miles (85–600 km).

• There's very little air up here.
• This is the hottest layer — temperatures can go way past 1,000°C!
• The few air particles here soak up huge amounts of energy from the Sun, making this layer super hot.
• But a person here would actually feel cold, because there's so little air that heat can't easily transfer.
• Space officially begins at about 62 miles (100 km) up.

What objects are found here?