Question 1

What type of physical process has led to the different types of meteorites that we see today?

Accepted Answer

A)  Nuclear Fusion 
B)  Accretion 
C)  Condensation 
D)  Differentiation 
A)  Nuclear Fusion 
B)  Accretion 
C)  Condensation 
D)  Differentiation

Question 2

The meteors in meteor showers are believed to be the debris left behind in comet orbits.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

The dust thrown up into the stratosphere by the impact of an asteroid can

Accepted Answer

A)  heat the surface of the earth. 
B)  cool the surface of the earth. 
C)  Wrong.There will be no effect. 
A)  heat the surface of the earth. 
B)  cool the surface of the earth. 
C)  Wrong.There will be no effect.

Question 4

Widmanstätten patterns are found in ____________________ meteorites.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Widmanstätten patterns are found in ____________________ meteorites....

Question 5

The impact of a large comet with Earth has been suggested to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.The impact site of this comet is in or near

Accepted Answer

A)  Iowa 
B)  Hudson Bay 
C)  Crater Lake,Oregon 
D)  Canberra Australia 
E)  Chicxulub Mexico 
A)  Iowa 
B)  Hudson Bay 
C)  Crater Lake,Oregon 
D)  Canberra Australia 
E)  Chicxulub Mexico

Question 6

Which one of the solar system objects below has the smallest mass?

Accepted Answer

A)  a comet 
B)  Jupiter 
C)  Mars 
D)  our moon 
E)  Venus 
A)  a comet 
B)  Jupiter 
C)  Mars 
D)  our moon 
E)  Venus

Question 7

The Widmanstätten patterns found in some meteorites show that the material

Accepted Answer

A)  cooled very slowly. 
B)  cooled very rapidly. 
C)  was never heated to the point of being molten. 
D)  was molten just before it entered Earth's atmosphere. 
E)  is composed primarily of organic compounds. 
A)  cooled very slowly. 
B)  cooled very rapidly. 
C)  was never heated to the point of being molten. 
D)  was molten just before it entered Earth's atmosphere. 
E)  is composed primarily of organic compounds.

Question 8

Long-period comets are believed to originate in the ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Long-period comets are believed to originate in...

Question 9

The majority of meteorite finds are iron meteorites.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

The density of Comet Halley was found to be about 0.2 g/cm3.This implies that Comet Halley

Accepted Answer

A)  is composed of about 50% rock and 50% frozen water and methane. 
B)  is loosely packed ices with a small amount of rocky material. 
C)  formed in the inner solar system and was ejected by Jupiter to the Kuiper belt. 
D)  is really an S-type asteroid. 
E)  was once a moon of Neptune and was ripped away by a large impact. 
A)  is composed of about 50% rock and 50% frozen water and methane. 
B)  is loosely packed ices with a small amount of rocky material. 
C)  formed in the inner solar system and was ejected by Jupiter to the Kuiper belt. 
D)  is really an S-type asteroid. 
E)  was once a moon of Neptune and was ripped away by a large impact.

Question 11

Uranium,thorium,and the radioactive isotope of potassium cannot supply the heat to melt small planetesimals,but the existence of iron and achondrite (stone)meteorites indicates that some asteroid sized bodies did melt inside.This is thought to be because short lived,intensely radioactive aluminum 26 atoms

Accepted Answer

A)  were much more abundant in the solar nebula at the location where the asteroids formed. 
B)  were not present in the solar nebula at the location where the asteroids formed. 
C)  are only found in the outer layers of asteroids and not in the core. 
D)  are very volatile and evaporated from the asteroids before they could decay. 
E)  are only found on rocks that formed on the earth and in no other celestial objects. 
A)  were much more abundant in the solar nebula at the location where the asteroids formed. 
B)  were not present in the solar nebula at the location where the asteroids formed. 
C)  are only found in the outer layers of asteroids and not in the core. 
D)  are very volatile and evaporated from the asteroids before they could decay. 
E)  are only found on rocks that formed on the earth and in no other celestial objects.

Question 12

Meteors seen during a meteor shower appear to come from a point in the sky called the ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Meteors seen during a meteor shower appear...

Question 13

The Kirkwood's gaps in the asteroid belt are caused by orbital resonances with Mars.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

The dirty snowball theory suggests that the head of a comet is composed of ices.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

How is the coma of a comet produced?

Accepted Answer

A)  Rocky material breaks off from the comet to form the coma. 
B)  The coma is a cloud of particles that the comet has swept up in its orbital path. 
C)  Ices vaporize to become gas that form around the comet nucleus. 
D)  Particles in the solar wind get caught in the comet's magnetic field to form the coma. 
A)  Rocky material breaks off from the comet to form the coma. 
B)  The coma is a cloud of particles that the comet has swept up in its orbital path. 
C)  Ices vaporize to become gas that form around the comet nucleus. 
D)  Particles in the solar wind get caught in the comet's magnetic field to form the coma.

Question 16

An asteroid has an orbital period around the sun of 5.2 years.How far from the sun is this asteroid? [This question requires the use of mathematics.]

Accepted Answer

A)  5.2 AU 
B)  10.4 AU 
C)  27.0 AU 
D)  3.0 AU 
E)  2.3 AU 
A)  5.2 AU 
B)  10.4 AU 
C)  27.0 AU 
D)  3.0 AU 
E)  2.3 AU

Question 17

The gas tail of a comet always

Accepted Answer

A)  trails behind the head along the orbital path. 
B)  extends ahead of the head along the orbital path. 
C)  points toward the sun. 
D)  points away from the sun. 
E)  points perpendicular to the orbital path. 
A)  trails behind the head along the orbital path. 
B)  extends ahead of the head along the orbital path. 
C)  points toward the sun. 
D)  points away from the sun. 
E)  points perpendicular to the orbital path.

Question 18

The type II tail of a comet shows a spectrum of absorption lines on a bright background (like the Sun's spectrum).From this,one can conclude that the tail contains

Accepted Answer

A)  dust. 
B)  thin gas. 
C)  no atoms at all,just empty space. 
D)  the spectrum does not tell which of the above is true. 
A)  dust. 
B)  thin gas. 
C)  no atoms at all,just empty space. 
D)  the spectrum does not tell which of the above is true.

Question 19

No asteroids have orbits that cross the Earth's orbit.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Two major kinds of meteorites are

Accepted Answer

A)  iron and stony. 
B)  hydrogen and helium. 
C)  Jovian and terrestrial. 
D)  lunar and solar. 
A)  iron and stony. 
B)  hydrogen and helium. 
C)  Jovian and terrestrial. 
D)  lunar and solar.

Exam 25: Meteorites,asteroids,and Comets

What type of physical process has led to the different types of meteorites that we see today?

The meteors in meteor showers are believed to be the debris left behind in comet orbits.

The dust thrown up into the stratosphere by the impact of an asteroid can

Widmanstätten patterns are found in ____________________ meteorites.

The impact of a large comet with Earth has been suggested to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.The impact site of this comet is in or near

Which one of the solar system objects below has the smallest mass?

The Widmanstätten patterns found in some meteorites show that the material

Long-period comets are believed to originate in the ____________________.

The majority of meteorite finds are iron meteorites.

The density of Comet Halley was found to be about 0.2 g/cm3.This implies that Comet Halley

Meteors seen during a meteor shower appear to come from a point in the sky called the ____________________.

The Kirkwood's gaps in the asteroid belt are caused by orbital resonances with Mars.

The dirty snowball theory suggests that the head of a comet is composed of ices.

How is the coma of a comet produced?

An asteroid has an orbital period around the sun of 5.2 years.How far from the sun is this asteroid? [This question requires the use of mathematics.]

The gas tail of a comet always

The type II tail of a comet shows a spectrum of absorption lines on a bright background (like the Sun's spectrum).From this,one can conclude that the tail contains

No asteroids have orbits that cross the Earth's orbit.

Two major kinds of meteorites are

Here and Now

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The Origin of Modern Astronomy

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The density of Comet Halley was found to be about 0.2 g/cm³.This implies that Comet Halley