Question 1

Refer to the following scenario for the questions below.
Lost in the Solar System: You have been abducted by an alien being. After performing experiments on you, the alien gives you a "life- support belt", allowing you to survive in any environment, and dumps you somewhere in the solar system. Each question below gives a brief description of a place where you were left by the alien. Identify your location. Be as specific as possible. Include a brief explanation for your answer.
-You find yourself on a silent airless world! The lack of an atmosphere means that you must be very careful not to look at the Sun so that you will not be blinded by its ultraviolet and X- ray radiation. However, you are able to determine that the Sun has about the same angular size that you are used to on Earth. Although this world is clearly lifeless, you are surprised to find footprints and car tracks etched in the powdery surface.

Accepted Answer

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Question 2

A comet that has an orbit around the Sun inclined to the ecliptic plane by 65° probably originated in the Kuiper belt.

Accepted Answer

Comets with orbits highly inclined to the ecliptic plane are more likely to have originated in the Oort Cloud, not the Kuiper Belt, which lies close to the ecliptic plane.

Question 3

Refer to the following scenario for the questions below.
Lost in the Solar System: You have been abducted by an alien being. After performing experiments on you, the alien gives you a "life- support belt", allowing you to survive in any environment, and dumps you somewhere in the solar system. Each question below gives a brief description of a place where you were left by the alien. Identify your location. Be as specific as possible. Include a brief explanation for your answer.
-You find yourself in a maelstrom, whipped by winds gusting at 10,000 km/hr, rising and falling in convective currents. On the rare occasions when you can assess your surroundings, you notice a horizon that seems to go on "forever" (or, at least, much farther than the horizon on Earth), and no solid surface anywhere. You get a glimpse of several large moons. The Sun races through your sky, requiring only about 5 hours to rise nearly due east, cross the meridian at an altitude of about 55° in the north, and then set due west.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Refer to the following scenario for the...

Question 4

Why is the Kuiper belt flat but the Oort cloud spherical?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why is the Kuiper belt flat but...

Question 5

Refer to the following choices to answer the questions below. Choose the answer that best describes the chemical composition of the object.
-Earth's atmosphere
A)nickel and iron
B)80 percent nitrogen, 20 percent oxygen
C)95 percent carbon dioxide
D)mostly hydrogen and helium
E)frozen methane, ammonia, water, and other gases and dust

Accepted Answer

Earth's atmosphere is composed of 80 percent nitrogen and 20 percent oxygen, with trace amounts of other gases.

Question 6

Viewed from Pluto, the Sun would appear more than a thousand times fainter than on Earth.

Accepted Answer

This is because Pluto is much further away from the Sun than Earth, so the Sun's light would be spread out over a much larger area, making it appear much dimmer.

Question 7

Pluto's surface features are completely unknown and await the visit by the New Horizon's spacecraft in 2015.

Accepted Answer

This statement is outdated as New Horizons has already visited Pluto in 2015 and provided data on its surface features.

Question 8

A spacecraft traveling through the asteroid belt has a high risk of being destroyed through a collision.

Accepted Answer

The asteroid belt is not as densely packed with asteroids as often depicted in movies and media. Spacecraft can navigate through it with minimal risk of collision due to the vast distances between asteroids.

Question 9

Refer to the following scenario for the questions below.
Lost in the Solar System: You have been abducted by an alien being. After performing experiments on you, the alien gives you a "life- support belt", allowing you to survive in any environment, and dumps you somewhere in the solar system. Each question below gives a brief description of a place where you were left by the alien. Identify your location. Be as specific as possible. Include a brief explanation for your answer.
-It's cold. You are sitting on what appears to be a water ice- covered world. The Sun is low on the horizon and circles the horizon once every 24 hours. Despite the low Sun, you can almost "feel" the Sun's ultraviolet radiation on your exposed face because there is little ozone to protect you. Despite these discomforts, you are pleased to find that the air is quite satisfactory; oxygen seems plentiful and you are able to breathe even without the
life- support belt.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Refer to the following scenario for the...

Question 10

Refer to the following scenario for the questions below.
Lost in the Solar System: You have been abducted by an alien being. After performing experiments on you, the alien gives you a "life- support belt", allowing you to survive in any environment, and dumps you somewhere in the solar system. Each question below gives a brief description of a place where you were left by the alien. Identify your location. Be as specific as possible. Include a brief explanation for your answer.
-You are walking on a solid surface. The surface gravity is comfortable, but it is "hot, hot, hot!" Your body is being squeezed in all directions due to the high pressure; it's almost like being deep in the ocean. Your life- support belt is corroding. The Sun, barely visible through the haze, is near your meridian. You hope for nightfall (unaware that it would provide no relief), but you already have been stuck on this planet for nearly 72 hours, and the Sun seems not to have moved through the sky (and, if it moved at all, it moved eastward from the meridian).

Accepted Answer

The answer of Refer to the following scenario for the...

Question 11

Aside from Pluto, no Kuiper belt objects are known to have moons.

Accepted Answer

This statement is false. Several Kuiper belt objects have been found to have moons, including Haumea, Makemake, Orcus, Quaoar, and others.

Question 12

Refer to the following choices to answer the questions below. Choose the answer that best describes the chemical composition of the object.
-Jupiter
A)nickel and iron
B)80 percent nitrogen, 20 percent oxygen
C)95 percent carbon dioxide
D)mostly hydrogen and helium
E)frozen methane, ammonia, water, and other gases and dust

Accepted Answer

Jupiter is mostly composed of hydrogen and helium, with small amounts of other elements.

Question 13

Pluto has 5 known moons.

Accepted Answer

Pluto has 5 known moons - Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx.

Question 14

Refer to the following scenario for the questions below.
Lost in the Solar System: You have been abducted by an alien being. After performing experiments on you, the alien gives you a "life- support belt", allowing you to survive in any environment, and dumps you somewhere in the solar system. Each question below gives a brief description of a place where you were left by the alien. Identify your location. Be as specific as possible. Include a brief explanation for your answer.
-You've been dropped at the edge of a cliff, looking down for what seems to be miles! There's only one way to go from here: up! But it's going to be quite a climb, requiring all of your mountaineering skills. The atmosphere is very thin even at the mean surface level of this place. No matter, though, as you could not breathe this atmosphere anyway because it is mostly carbon dioxide and contains no oxygen. You climb and climb. This mountain must be three times the height of Mt. Everest and much broader at its base. There are clouds around you, and you can find water ice as well. When you try to melt some ice, however, it does not turn to liquid but sublimes to gas.

Accepted Answer

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Question 15

Describe some ways in which a meteorite can be distinguished from a terrestrial rock.

Accepted Answer

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Question 16

A spacecraft has captured and brought material to Earth from a comet.

Accepted Answer

Yes, several spacecrafts (such as Stardust, Rosetta, and Deep Impact) have captured and brought material from comets back to Earth for analysis.

Question 17

Refer to the following choices to answer the questions below. Choose the answer that best describes the chemical composition of the object.
-Comet Hale- Bopp
A)nickel and iron
B)80 percent nitrogen, 20 percent oxygen
C)95 percent carbon dioxide
D)mostly hydrogen and helium
E)frozen methane, ammonia, water, and other gases and dust

Accepted Answer

Comets are typically composed of frozen gases such as methane, ammonia, and water, as well as dust. Cometary tails are created when these materials are vaporized as the comet approaches the sun.

Question 18

Refer to the following choices to answer the questions below. Choose the answer that best describes the chemical composition of the object.
-a Kuiper- belt object
A)nickel and iron
B)80 percent nitrogen, 20 percent oxygen
C)95 percent carbon dioxide
D)mostly hydrogen and helium
E)frozen methane, ammonia, water, and other gases and dust

Accepted Answer

Kuiper-belt objects are icy bodies located beyond Neptune, in the Kuiper belt. The chemical composition of a Kuiper-belt object is mostly frozen methane, ammonia, water, and other gases and dust.

Question 19

Why is Pluto now considered to be a Kuiper- belt object?

Accepted Answer

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Question 20

Briefly describe how an impact could lead to a mass extinction.

Accepted Answer

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Quiz 9: Asteroids, Comets, and Dwarf Planets: Their Nature, Orbits, and Impacts

A comet that has an orbit around the Sun inclined to the ecliptic plane by 65° probably originated in the Kuiper belt.

Why is the Kuiper belt flat but the Oort cloud spherical?

Refer to the following choices to answer the questions below. Choose the answer that best describes the chemical composition of the object. -Earth's atmosphere

Viewed from Pluto, the Sun would appear more than a thousand times fainter than on Earth.

Pluto's surface features are completely unknown and await the visit by the New Horizon's spacecraft in 2015.

A spacecraft traveling through the asteroid belt has a high risk of being destroyed through a collision.

Aside from Pluto, no Kuiper belt objects are known to have moons.

Refer to the following choices to answer the questions below. Choose the answer that best describes the chemical composition of the object. -Jupiter

Pluto has 5 known moons.

Describe some ways in which a meteorite can be distinguished from a terrestrial rock.

A spacecraft has captured and brought material to Earth from a comet.

Refer to the following choices to answer the questions below. Choose the answer that best describes the chemical composition of the object. -Comet Hale- Bopp

Refer to the following choices to answer the questions below. Choose the answer that best describes the chemical composition of the object. -a Kuiper- belt object

Why is Pluto now considered to be a Kuiper- belt object?

Briefly describe how an impact could lead to a mass extinction.