Mon Prof Augmenté
Layers of Air Above Earth
Age 13 · Geography
Earth’s atmosphere is stacked in layers, and each one sits at a different height. The higher you go, the thinner the air becomes, and each layer has its own things happening in it.
This picture is part of the full library
Every lesson is open to everyone for 7 days after it is published. This one came out on September 5, 2026: its text stays readable here, and its picture opens with a subscription.
The app is free. A subscription opens every lesson, in every school year.
Age 13: open this week
Browse Age 13
In the picture
- The airliner flying among the clouds in the troposphere, the lowest layer, reaching up to about 12 km.
- The weather balloon floating in the stratosphere, home of the ozone layer, from about 12 to 50 km.
- The burning meteor in the mesosphere, from about 50 to 85 km, where most space rocks burn up.
- The space station orbiting in the thermosphere, from about 85 to 600 km, where auroras glow.
- The small satellite in the exosphere, the outermost layer, thinning away into space.
Examples
- A passenger flight cruising at about 10 km is still inside the troposphere, near the top of the clouds.
- A shooting star you spot at night is a speck of dust burning up in the mesosphere.
Key takeaways
- From lowest to highest the layers are troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere.
- Almost all weather and about three quarters of the air’s mass are in the troposphere.
Quiz: Layers of Air Above Earth (Age 13)
-
Starting at the ground and moving straight up, in what order do you pass through the atmosphere’s layers?
-
A rock from space burns up about 70 km above the ground. Which layer is it burning up in?
-
What happens to the air as you travel higher and higher through the layers?
The answers, each with its explanation, are in the app. This lesson has left the free week, so its quiz is part of the subscription.
Free app, optional subscription
App Store Google Play
Carry on in the app
At least one new illustrated lesson every weekday for your child’s year, with its quiz and a reminder at 6:15 pm.
Your child’s teacher does not use My Enhanced Teacher yet?
Tell them about it
