These particles in the air are called aerosols. Some aerosols—like dust and pollen—are picked up naturally when the wind blows. But the air can also carry soot, smoke, and other particles from car exhaust and power plants. These are major contributors to air pollution.
People need to breathe, and so do lots of other animals—and plants! Breathing is part of a process called respiration. During respiration, a living thing takes in oxygen from the air and gives out carbon dioxide. This process gives animals and plants the energy to eat, grow, and live life! When humans and animals breathe, we give off an odorless gas called carbon dioxide, or CO 2. Plants use this gas, along with sunlight, to make food—and oxygen too! This process is called photosynthesis.
However, large amounts of CO 2 are produced when cars and power plants burn coal, oil, and gasoline. This is bad because CO 2 is the most important contributor to human-caused global warming. Relative humidity is the amount of water that the air can hold before it rains. They also release oxygen during this process. When people and animals eat the plants, they ingest carbon and produce the energy they need to live.
When they die, their bodies decompose, causing carbon to go back into the air as this endless cycle repeats itself. Without air, average temperatures on Earth would plummet to below freezing. During the day, the planet gets warm as it absorbs energy from the sun. Through a process called the greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases absorb some of the infrared radiation the earth releases as it cools.
Air also reduces the possibility that meteorites and asteroids could level a city. Most space rocks vaporize in the air before they reach the ground, where they can cause destruction. Imagine not being able to hear a screaming jet engine a foot away from your ear. People can hear sound only because air carries sound waves from one point to another.
Eliminate air, and nobody will ever hear sounds that move between locations. Because air molecules cause violet and blue wavelengths of sunlight to scatter, the sky appears blue. With no air, the sky would always be black. You can also thank air for rain, snow and tornadoes, because air helps create weather. How does the atmosphere make life possible?
How does life alter the atmosphere? In photosynthesis plants use CO 2 and create O 2. Photosynthesis is responsible for nearly all of the oxygen currently found in the atmosphere.
By creating oxygen and food, plants have made an environment that is favorable for animals. In respiration, animals use oxygen to convert sugar into food energy they can use. Plants also go through respiration and consume some of the sugars they produce.
All weather takes place in the atmosphere, virtually all of it in the lower atmosphere. Weather describes what the atmosphere is like at a specific time and place, and may include temperature, wind, and precipitation.
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