Layers of the Atmosphere

Without our atmosphere, there would be no life on earth. Two gases make up the bulk of the earth’s atmosphere: nitrogen (78%), and oxygen (21%). Argon, carbon dioxide and various trace gases make up the remainder. 
Scientists divided the atmosphere into four layers according to temperature: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. The temperature drops as we go up through the troposphere, but it rises as we move through the next layer, the stratosphere. The farther away from earth, the thinner the atmosphere gets.