Question

Temperature of the troposphere decreases with altitude. This is because of____.
(A). High pressure of air.
(B). Gases present in the air.
(C). Low density of air.
(D). All of these.

Answer 1

Hint:
The atmosphere is a layer of gases that surrounds the planet or any other material body which is held in space with the help of gravity of that body. The atmosphere is retained to a planet due to its gravity.

Complete step by step answer:
The earth’s atmosphere is divided into five layers named as troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. All these layers of atmosphere differ in properties such as composition, temperature and pressure. The lowermost layer of the atmosphere is the troposphere and the outermost layer of the atmosphere is the exosphere.
The layer of the atmosphere, named troposphere, extends from the surface of the earth and goes up to the bottom of the stratosphere, the layer of atmosphere which lies just above the troposphere. The height of the troposphere is nearly $17$ km at the equator and about $7$ km near the poles. The troposphere covers about three – quarters of the total atmosphere, and neatly all weather conditions can take place in this layer. It contains about $75$ percent of the atmosphere’s mass and nearly $99$ percent of the total mass of water vapour and aerosols.
In the lowest part of the troposphere, the friction with the earth’s surface influences the airflow. This is also known as planetary boundary layer. Thus, we can say that the air is warmest at the bottom of the troposphere, that is near the ground level, due to friction between the atmosphere and the earth’s surface. However, the air becomes colder as we move from bottom to the top through the troposphere. This is because the pressure of air increases with the increase in height.

Hence, the correct answer is (A).

Additional Information:-
As we know that the air becomes colder as we rise through the troposphere, thus, due to this the peaks of the tall mountains remain covered with snow even during the summers. Also, due to decrease in the air pressure and the density of air, the cabins of high- flying jet aircraft are pressurized.

Note: The troposphere provides oxygen that we can breathe, keeps earth at a liveable temperature and allows for weather to occur, making it a very important part of the atmosphere.