Stratosphere features: contains the ozone layer; temperature increases with altitude due to ozone absorbing UV radiation; 15-50 km. Which statement correctly describes it?

Stratosphere features: contains the ozone layer; temperature increases with altitude due to ozone absorbing UV radiation; 15-50 km. Which statement correctly describes it?

• A. Contains the ozone layer; temperature increases with altitude due to ozone absorbing UV radiation; 15-50 km
• B. It is the coldest layer where meteors burn up
• C. Where weather occurs
• D. The layer below the troposphere

Answer: (A)

In the stratosphere, the presence of the ozone layer is what drives the temperature pattern. Ozone absorbs incoming UV radiation, and that absorbed energy heats the air around it. As a result, temperature increases with altitude within this layer, creating a temperature inversion—unlike the layer below it, where temperatures typically fall with height. This region generally spans about 15 to 50 kilometers above the Earth's surface, with the ozone concentration strongest roughly between 15 and 35 kilometers. Why the other statements don’t fit: the coldest layer is the mesosphere, not the stratosphere, and meteors tend to burn up there. Weather and most cloud formation occur in the troposphere, not in the stratosphere. And the stratosphere lies above the troposphere, not below it.

In the stratosphere, the presence of the ozone layer is what drives the temperature pattern. Ozone absorbs incoming UV radiation, and that absorbed energy heats the air around it. As a result, temperature increases with altitude within this layer, creating a temperature inversion—unlike the layer below it, where temperatures typically fall with height. This region generally spans about 15 to 50 kilometers above the Earth's surface, with the ozone concentration strongest roughly between 15 and 35 kilometers.

Why the other statements don’t fit: the coldest layer is the mesosphere, not the stratosphere, and meteors tend to burn up there. Weather and most cloud formation occur in the troposphere, not in the stratosphere. And the stratosphere lies above the troposphere, not below it.