Question 1

The meteoroids in the Orionid meteor shower,which occurs every October,come from
A) dust in the star-forming Orion nebula.
B) dust melted off Comet Halley.
C) debris from the collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9.
D) zodiacal dust.

Accepted Answer

The Orionid meteor shower is associated with Comet Halley, which leaves behind a trail of debris as it orbits around the sun. When the Earth crosses this debris trail in October, we observe the Orionid meteor shower.

Question 2

What does the existence of M-type asteroids tell us about their origin?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What does the existence of M-type asteroids...

Question 3

Most comets originate
A) near Earth and Venus in the early Solar System.
B) far from the planets,many thousands of AU from the Sun.
C) from the region between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune.
D) between the Sun and Mercury.

Accepted Answer

Most comets originate far from the planets, many thousands of AU from the Sun, in a region called the Oort Cloud.

Question 4

Why does the dust tail separate from the ion tail?
A) The dust is not ionized,so it is not affected by the solar wind.
B) Dust cannot sublimate as ice can,so it cannot form a tail as easily.
C) The dust tail forms on the leading side of the nucleus,whereas the gas tail forms on the opposite side.
D) Dust is more massive than ions,so it accelerates less.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why does the dust tail separate from...

Question 5

Consider a meteoroid with a diameter of 10 cm and a mass of 2 kg that hits the Earth head-on while traveling at a speed of 25,000 m/s.How many times larger or smaller is the meteoroid's kinetic energy compared to that of a typical train whose mass is  and speed is 25 m/s?
A) The meteoroid's kinetic energy is equal to that of the train.
B) The meteoroid's kinetic energy is 1,000 times less than that of the train.
C) The meteoroid's kinetic energy is 1,000 times greater than that of the train.
D) The meteoroid's kinetic energy is  times greater than that of the train.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Consider a meteoroid with a diameter of...

Question 6

A recent estimate finds that approximately 800 meteorites with mass greater than 0.1 kg strike the surface of the Earth each day.If a house covers an area of roughly  then what is the probability that your house will be struck by a meteorite in your 100-year lifetime? Note that the radius of the Earth is 6,400 km.
A) 1 in 
B) 1 in 
C) 1 in 
D) 1 in

Accepted Answer

The answer of A recent estimate finds that approximately 800...

Question 7

The minimum size of a meteoroid that is capable of surviving its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and hitting the ground is about as big as
A) a car.
B) a house.
C) a grain of sand.
D) your fist.

Accepted Answer

A meteoroid needs to be at least the size of a fist to survive the intense heat and pressure of passing through Earth's atmosphere and reach the ground as a meteorite. Smaller meteoroids typically burn up completely before reaching the surface.

Question 8

How is it possible for the tail of a comet to actually move ahead of the comet itself?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How is it possible for the tail...

Question 9

All of the zodiacal dust in the Solar System combined is roughly equal in mass to
A) a meteoroid.
B) a comet.
C) the Moon.
D) a terrestrial planet.

Accepted Answer

The combined mass of all zodiacal dust in the Solar System is roughly equivalent to that of a comet, which is significantly less than the mass of the Moon or a terrestrial planet.

Question 10

You find a blackened rock lying on top of the snow.You find that it is fairly dense and suspect it might be a meteorite.You take it to a lab,and they find that its age is 1.3 Gyr.Is this a meteorite? Why,or why not?

Accepted Answer

The answer of You find a blackened rock lying on...

Question 11

Name three properties of the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris that are similar.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Name three properties of the dwarf planets...

Question 12

Comet nuclei,absent their tails,are very dark because
A) they are made of water ice.
B) they have iron and nickel mixed with ice.
C) they have organic molecules mixed with ice.
D) they are covered in rock.

Accepted Answer

Comet nuclei are made of a mix of ice and organic molecules, which give them a very dark appearance in the absence of their tails.

Question 13

Suppose we discover a comet whose orbit was very highly eccentric,retrograde,had a very large tilt with respect to the ecliptic plane,and a period of 2,000 years.Where is the most likely place of origin for this comet?
A) The Kuiper Belt
B) The Oort Cloud
C) The Jovian family
D) Outside the Solar System

Accepted Answer

A comet with a highly eccentric, retrograde orbit and a large tilt with respect to the ecliptic plane is likely to have come from the Oort Cloud, a distant spherical shell of icy objects that surrounds the solar system. The long period of 2,000 years also suggests that it has a far-reaching orbit that extends beyond the Kuiper Belt and possibly the Jovian family of comets. Therefore, the most likely place of origin for this comet is the Oort Cloud.

Question 14

Give examples of a C-type asteroid and an S-type asteroid that have been observed by spacecraft.What did we learn about each type?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Give examples of a C-type asteroid and...

Question 15

The one orbital characteristic both short- and long-period comets share is
A) mostly prograde orbits.
B) orbits with completely random tilts.
C) orbital periods longer than any planet.
D) highly eccentric orbits.

Accepted Answer

Both short- and long-period comets have highly eccentric orbits, meaning their orbits are elongated and take them closer to the Sun before swinging them far out into the depths of the Solar System. This is what makes them so visible to us as they pass by the Sun and create spectacular tails.

Question 16

Do icy cometary nuclei melt and move from solid to liquid phase as they are warmed by the radiation from the Sun?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Do icy cometary nuclei melt and move...

Question 17

Give the definitions of meteoroid,meteor,and meteorite,and clearly explain how they differ.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Give the definitions of meteoroid,meteor,and meteorite,and clearly...

Question 18

The Perseid meteor shower will occur
A) every month.
B) every year.
C) every 4 years.
D) every 76 years.

Accepted Answer

The Perseid meteor shower occurs every year around mid-August, making choice B correct. It is not every month (A) or every 4 years (C), nor is it on a 76 year cycle (D).

Question 19

In 1994,dozens of fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with
A) Jupiter.
B) the Earth.
C) the Moon.
D) Saturn.

Accepted Answer

Multiple fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter in 1994, creating impressive impact sites on Jupiter's atmosphere.

Question 20

A comet having an orbit of 50 years would likely have come from the
A) Trojan family.
B) Oort Cloud.
C) Zodiacal zone.
D) Kuiper Belt.

Accepted Answer

Comets with orbits of around 50 years are typically short-period comets, which are believed to originate from the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system beyond Neptune.

Quiz 12: Dwarf Planets and Small Solar System Bodies

The meteoroids in the Orionid meteor shower,which occurs every October,come from

What does the existence of M-type asteroids tell us about their origin?

Most comets originate

Why does the dust tail separate from the ion tail?

Consider a meteoroid with a diameter of 10 cm and a mass of 2 kg that hits the Earth head-on while traveling at a speed of 25,000 m/s.How many times larger or smaller is the meteoroid's kinetic energy compared to that of a typical train whose mass is and speed is 25 m/s?

The minimum size of a meteoroid that is capable of surviving its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and hitting the ground is about as big as

How is it possible for the tail of a comet to actually move ahead of the comet itself?

All of the zodiacal dust in the Solar System combined is roughly equal in mass to

You find a blackened rock lying on top of the snow.You find that it is fairly dense and suspect it might be a meteorite.You take it to a lab,and they find that its age is 1.3 Gyr.Is this a meteorite? Why,or why not?

Name three properties of the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris that are similar.

Comet nuclei,absent their tails,are very dark because

Suppose we discover a comet whose orbit was very highly eccentric,retrograde,had a very large tilt with respect to the ecliptic plane,and a period of 2,000 years.Where is the most likely place of origin for this comet?

Give examples of a C-type asteroid and an S-type asteroid that have been observed by spacecraft.What did we learn about each type?

The one orbital characteristic both short- and long-period comets share is

Do icy cometary nuclei melt and move from solid to liquid phase as they are warmed by the radiation from the Sun?

Give the definitions of meteoroid,meteor,and meteorite,and clearly explain how they differ.

The Perseid meteor shower will occur

In 1994,dozens of fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with

A comet having an orbit of 50 years would likely have come from the