How Much Does The Sky Weigh?

Introduction

     When you look up at the sky, have you ever thought about it? Perhaps about phrases that come into your mind or even wondering about it pushing you around in a hot air balloon. To be specific, have you ever imagined about how much the sky weighs? Well if you read this you might find what you're looking for.

Really!?!

     When thinking about how much the sky weighs you might be a little surprised or shocked to find out its actuall weight. You probably know that air is all around you. It starts at the ground and floats all the way up to the tippy-tops of the sky. That air isn't empty, though. It's full of molecules. Molecules, by the way have weight if you didn't know that. With all that air pressure on top of you it could probably knock you to the ground. But there's one catch. Not all that air is on top of you. Some of that air is on the sides of you. In fact all the air is evenly spread out all around your body. so, back to the main question, how much does the sky weigh? Well, the atmosphere weighs around 5 million billion tons. By the way in case you didn't know 1 ton is equivalent to 2000 pounds. So 5 million billion multiplied by 2000 is about a random number that is out of my calculations. If you still can't imagine how much that is I'll give another example. Some scientists estimate it is about the same weight as 570,000,000,000,000 adult Indian elephants! That's a lot of elephants. Now you now the secrets to how much the sky weigh.

My Opinion

     When I first read the article informing me about this exotic information I was astonished. I wouldn't be surprised that after you read this that your jaw would drop to the floor. I would've guessed about 14 pounds or so, but this was not even close to my answer. If anyone were to get that right I would most likely think of them as some kind of astronomer genius. Also,  I think that because other flying animals don't sink down there's probably less air pressure the higher you go. I can tell because the higher you go the less air above you there is.

Top Ten List

1. nitrogen

2. oxygen

3. carbon dioxide

4. helium

5. hydrogen

6. methane

7. chloroflorocarbon

8. argon

9. neon

10. sulfur dioxide

Your Turn

     We've found out how much the sky weigh, right? Still, though we haven't talked about how scientists found this information. In the comments below type down the apparatus used to get this information. It could be a guess that you take or a well developed answer using the internet and/other useful resources. When you answer I'll check to see if it's right or not. You don't have to, but it would be nice if you did. That all, PEACE!