Question

The thermosphere has _____ air pressure than the mesosphere.

more
less
equal

Answer 1

I think the correct answer from the choices listed above is the second option. The thermosphere has less air pressure than the mesosphere because the farther away you are from the surface of the earth the lesser amount of gases present.

Answer 2

Less

Step-by-step explanation:

The thermosphere is located above the mesosphere. The atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing altitude.

The atmospheric pressure is caused by the weight of the air above us. The thermosphere has lesser pressure because the air density is low here and the layers above it has lesser mass. Since they no not weigh much their weight cannot create greater pressure.

The relationship between pressure and altitude is

`P_(h)=P_(o) e^{(-mgh)/(kT)}`

Where

`P_(o)` is the pressure at sea level.

m is the molar mass of air

g is the acceleration due to gravity

h is the altitude

k is the Boltzmann's constant

T is the temperature