We talked about how our Earth is surrounded by a layer of gases called the atmosphere and it is this layer that protects our Earth and helps to provide the conditions that make life possible as in not too hot or not too cold. Our atmosphere has 5 different layers which are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere & exosphere. This is a super simple project that you can do at home with ingredients you may already have in your house. 

Layers Of The Atmosphere Density Experiment

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What You'll Need:

  1. a glass jar 
  2. water
  3. honey
  4. golden syrup
  5. washing up liquid
  6. vegetable oil
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What To Do:

  1. Begin with pouring a bit of honey into your bottle. This will be the Troposphere which is the layer that we live on and is where weather occurs. This layers covers around 30,000-50,000 feet high. 
  2. Next, add the golden syrup. This is the Stratosphere which extends for the next 32 miles after the troposphere. You can find weather balloons here. 
  3. Then the washing up liquid. This is the Mesosphere which covers the next 50 miles beyond the Stratosphere. This is where most meteors burn up upon entry. The coldest place on earth is at the top of the mesosphere.
  4. Then the water. This is the Thermosphere and the air is very thin here. Temperatures can get very hot here.
  5. Finally, add the vegetable oil. this is the Exosphere, the last layer and the thinnest. It goes all the way to 10,000kn above the Earth's surface.