We explored how temperature and air pressure change through layers of Earth’s atmosphere. We related air mass to air pressure. Then we discovered the composition of each layer of the atmosphere and the importance of each layer. For example, the stratosphere contains the ozone layer which protects us from ultraviolet radiation from the sun and the mesosphere burns up meteors before they hit the Earth as meteorites. Next, we looked at the greenhouse effect which is the process by which gases in the atmosphere such as water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb and give off infrared radiation. With greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere, radiation from Earth’s surface is lost to space more slowly, which makes Earth’s surface warmer.