Deck 12: Impact of Extraterrestrial Objects

Question 1

Why do some asteroids leave the asteroid belt and cross the orbits of Earth and other solar system bodies?

A)The gravity of Earth and other bodies pull the asteroids out of the asteroid belt.
B)Asteroids collide in the asteroid belt and some asteroids are diverted into other orbits.
C)Comets passing through the asteroid belt pull asteroids away.
D)The asteroid belt is slowly expanding with time, into orbits of Earth and other bodies.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In 1908, the Tunguska River Valley in Siberia experienced

A)a nuclear explosion
B)an aerial burst of a meteor
C)a major earthquake
D)a volcanic eruption

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction was apparently caused by a meteorite that struck

A)Yucatan Peninsula
B)Pacific coast of Canada
C)Europe
D)Australia

Answer 3

A

Question 4

An asteroid or comet that strikes the Earth's surface is called a meteor.

Question 5

What would be the principal option for preventing a catastrophic meteorite impact, once a threatening object was identified?

A)changing the orbit of the object with small nuclear explosions
B)breaking the object into smaller pieces with nuclear explosions
C)evacuate the potentially affected area
D)constructing a physical shield around Earth

Question 6

Why are impact craters more common on the Moon and Mars than on Earth?

A)the Moon and Mars have thinner atmospheres
B)more meteoroids approach the Moon and Mars
C)the Moon and Mars consist of stronger rock that preserves craters better
D)meteorites striking Earth are typically larger

Question 7

What is an aerial burst?

A)an explosion in the asteroid belt that sends asteroids hurtling toward Earth
B)a secondary explosion above an impact crater, occurring after impact
C)a meteor bursting into many smaller pieces when bombarded with nuclear weapons
D)an explosion of a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere

Question 8

The shock wave resulting from meteorite impact causes metamorphism and melting of rocks at and near the Earth's surface.

Question 9

What element was found to be enriched in a thin clay layer marking the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary at several sites around the world?

A)calcium
B)uranium
C)iridium
D)niobium

Question 10

Why are ancient impact craters difficult to identify on Earth?

A)they typically have been eroded or infilled with younger sediments
B)impact craters on Earth are smaller than those on the Moon or Mars
C)they typically lack shock metamorphic minerals
D)there have been very few meteorite impacts on Earth

Question 11

The Tunguska event resulted from impact of a large meteorite.

Question 12

How big was the meteorite that apparently caused the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction?

A)1 km
B)10 km
C)100 km
D)1000 km

Question 13

A meteor is

A)a small comet
B)a large meteoroid
C)a meteoroid that has entered the Earth's atmosphere
D)a meteoroid that strikes the Earth's surface

Question 14

Most asteroids are found between Mars and Jupiter.

Question 15

In 1994, the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with

A)Earth
B)Mars
C)Moon
D)Jupiter

Question 16

A meteorite impact crater can be distinguished from a volcanic crater through the presence of

A)volcanic rock
B)high pressure metamorphic minerals
C)dust surrounding the crater
D)a raised crater rim

Question 17

Comets typically orbit the sun at the distance of Neptune.

Question 18

A meteoroid is

A)a small particle of an asteroid
B)a giant asteroid
C)a streak of light across the sky
D)a meteor that has struck the Earth's surface

Question 19

A meteorite is

A)a small comet
B)a large meteoroid
C)a meteoroid that has entered the Earth's atmosphere
D)a meteoroid, asteroid, or comet that strikes the Earth's surface

Question 20

Why is the probability of dying from a meteorite impact greater than that of dying in an automobile accident?

A)because fatal meteorite impacts are likely to occur very frequently
B)because there is a high probability that any person will be hit directly by a meteorite
C)because a large meteorite impact would cause a very high number of fatalities
D)because there are millions of meteoroids in near-Earth orbit

Question 21

The impact crater resulting from the Cretaceous-Tertiary meteorite impact was found in the country of ________.

Question 22

A meteoroid that enters the Earth's atmosphere is called a(n) ________.

Question 23

An aerial burst occurred in the Tunguska River valley of ________ in 1908.

Question 24

The Chicxulub impact crater was the first evidence to suggest that a meteorite impact caused the Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction.

Question 25

The ________ of dying from a meteorite impact is greater than that of dying in an auto accident.

Question 26

There is very little chance that we will know of a likely catastrophic meteorite impact ahead of time.

Question 27

The elimination of a large proportion of species on Earth is called a(n) ________.

Question 28

The mass extinction at the Permian-Triassic transition definitely resulted from meteorite impact.

Question 29

One option for preventing a major meteorite impact would be to nudge the object into a different orbit using ________.

Question 30

A(n) ________ is a bowl-shaped depression caused by a meteorite striking the Earth's surface.

Question 31

Because of a thinner ________, there are more impact craters on the Moon than on Earth.

Question 32

The Chicxulub impact crater in the Yucatan is an easily recognizable crater.

Question 33

The Cretaceous-Tertiary impact event was first discovered through the chemistry of sediments.

Question 34

Asteroids are concentrated in the Oort Cloud, beyond Neptune.

Question 35

The Tunguska event would likely have killed millions of people if it had happened over a heavily populated area.

Question 36

Impact of a large extraterrestrial object is probable within the next century.

Question 37

Blowing a threatening extraterrestrial object into small pieces would likely increase the hazard to Earth.

Question 38

An anomaly of the element ________ marks the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in several locations around the world.

Question 39

A(n) ________ event is characterized by the sudden loss of large numbers of plants and animals relative to the number of new species being added.

Question 40

The meteorite that struck the Yucatan Peninsula was about ________ kilometers in diameter.

Question 41

Two government projects are tracking ________ that might become threats to Earth.

Question 42

The extinction of large mammals at the end of the ________ Epoch may have been caused by a meteorite.