The Earth's atmosphere is a thin layer of gases that surrounds the Earth. It composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.9% argon, 0.03% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases. This thin gaseous layer insulates the Earth from extreme temperatures; it keeps heat inside the atmosphere and it also blocks the Earth from much of the Sun's incoming ultraviolet radiation.

Additional Tags

formation of the atmosphere, layers of the atmosphere, earth's temperature, earth's atmosphere

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Classroom Considerations

• Knovation Readability Score: 3 (1 low difficulty, 5 high difficulty)