Question 1

What is the defining property of the Trojan asteroids?

Accepted Answer

A) Their orbital periods are exactly one year, like ours. 
B) They have orbits that cross the orbit of Earth, but not that of Venus. 
C) They have orbits at the distance of Jupiter and 60 degrees ahead of or behind it. 
D) They have orbits between Saturn and Uranus. 
E) Like Pluto, they are in a 3:2 resonance with Neptune. 
A) Their orbital periods are exactly one year, like ours. 
B) They have orbits that cross the orbit of Earth, but not that of Venus. 
C) They have orbits at the distance of Jupiter and 60 degrees ahead of or behind it. 
D) They have orbits between Saturn and Uranus. 
E) Like Pluto, they are in a 3:2 resonance with Neptune.

Question 2

Why were the mass and density of Pluto unknown until Charon was found?

Accepted Answer

Pluto is so distant that its disk was no

Question 3

Which spacecraft performed a flyby of Pluto?

Accepted Answer

A) Voyager 2 
B) Apollo 13 
C) New Horizons 
D) Dawn 
E) Hayabusa 
A) Voyager 2 
B) Apollo 13 
C) New Horizons 
D) Dawn 
E) Hayabusa

Question 4

The type of asteroid that would appear darkest and reflect the least light is type:

Accepted Answer

A) A. 
B) B. 
C) C. 
D) D. 
E) S. 
A) A. 
B) B. 
C) C. 
D) D. 
E) S.

Question 5

Some meteorites found on Earth are believed to have originated on the Moon or Venus.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

The major impact in the Yucatan wiped out the dinosaurs:

Accepted Answer

A) about 450 million years ago. 
B) about 200 million years ago. 
C) about 65 million years ago. 
D) about 36 million years ago. 
E) less than 2 million years ago. 
A) about 450 million years ago. 
B) about 200 million years ago. 
C) about 65 million years ago. 
D) about 36 million years ago. 
E) less than 2 million years ago.

Question 7

How does Pluto's behavior at perihelion support its planetary status?

Accepted Answer

It develops a tempor

Question 8

Describe the properties of meteoroids.

Accepted Answer

Objects of rocky material, fro

Question 9

Charon is Pluto's largest moon.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Common ices on Pluto's higher elevations include ________, ________ and ________.

Accepted Answer

nitrogen,

Question 11

Why do researchers believe that asteroids in the asteroid belt are primal rocks that did notmerge into a planet?

Accepted Answer

A) The total mass of the asteroids in the asteroid belt is much smaller than that of any terrestrialplanet in our solar system. 
B) The differences in chemical compositions of the asteroids are too large for them to haveoriginated in a single body. 
C) Jupiter's gravity could have prevented these objects merging into a single body. 
D) all of the above 
E) none of the above 
A) The total mass of the asteroids in the asteroid belt is much smaller than that of any terrestrialplanet in our solar system. 
B) The differences in chemical compositions of the asteroids are too large for them to haveoriginated in a single body. 
C) Jupiter's gravity could have prevented these objects merging into a single body. 
D) all of the above 
E) none of the above

Question 12

Meteor showers result when asteroids collide and this debris showers the inner solar system.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Pluto's bulk density is:

Accepted Answer

A)  $3,400 \mathrm {~kg} / \mathrm { m } ^ { 3 }$, omparable to our Moon's. 
B)  $2,100 \mathrm {~kg} / \mathrm { m } ^ { 3 }$, similar to Callisto's mix of rock and ice. 
C)  $1,200 \mathrm {~kg} / \mathrm { m } ^ { 3 }$ like Mimas, made of almost pure ice. 
D)  $700 \mathrm {~kg} / \mathrm { m } ^ { 3 } ,$ ike Saturn a mix of hydrogen and helium slush. 
E)  $400 \mathrm {~kg} / \mathrm { m } ^ { 3 } \text {, }$ lie Comet Halley's nucleus, a ice ball with many gas pockets. 
A)  $3,400 \mathrm {~kg} / \mathrm { m } ^ { 3 }$, omparable to our Moon's. 
B)  $2,100 \mathrm {~kg} / \mathrm { m } ^ { 3 }$, similar to Callisto's mix of rock and ice. 
C)  $1,200 \mathrm {~kg} / \mathrm { m } ^ { 3 }$ like Mimas, made of almost pure ice. 
D)  $700 \mathrm {~kg} / \mathrm { m } ^ { 3 } ,$ ike Saturn a mix of hydrogen and helium slush. 
E)  $400 \mathrm {~kg} / \mathrm { m } ^ { 3 } \text {, }$ lie Comet Halley's nucleus, a ice ball with many gas pockets.

Question 14

Carbonaceous meteorites are believed to come from:

Accepted Answer

A) coal formed on Mars, then blown into space by asteroid impacts. 
B) the core of a differentiated type M asteroid, now broken up. 
C) the crust of a differentiated C type asteroid, now broken up. 
D) a broken up cometary nucleus, dark like Comet Halley's nucleus. 
E) deep space, far beyond the solar system, hence their very low density. 
A) coal formed on Mars, then blown into space by asteroid impacts. 
B) the core of a differentiated type M asteroid, now broken up. 
C) the crust of a differentiated C type asteroid, now broken up. 
D) a broken up cometary nucleus, dark like Comet Halley's nucleus. 
E) deep space, far beyond the solar system, hence their very low density.

Question 15

What is the closest thing to a binary planet we find in the solar system, even though it doesn'tinclude a planet? Why?

Accepted Answer

Pluto's moon Charon is half as

Question 16

Pluto's orbit takes it closer to the Sun than Neptune for part of its orbit.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

Which of the following objects would be found on the Moon's surface?

Accepted Answer

A) sedimentary rocks 
B) meteoroids 
C) meteors 
D) meteorites 
E) asteroids 
A) sedimentary rocks 
B) meteoroids 
C) meteors 
D) meteorites 
E) asteroids

Question 18

All known asteroids can be found in the asteroid belt.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

How did discovering the KBOs demote Pluto's planetary status?

Accepted Answer

If Pluto is a major planet, then many Ku

Question 20

Which statement about Pluto's discovery is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A) It was predicted by Percival Lowell, based on perturbation theory. 
B) It was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh close to Lowell's predicted position. 
C) It was found in 1930, the first planet found by an American. 
D) It was the massive jovian Lowell described as "Planet X" in his calculations. 
E) Cold and dark, it was named for the god of the underworld. 
A) It was predicted by Percival Lowell, based on perturbation theory. 
B) It was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh close to Lowell's predicted position. 
C) It was found in 1930, the first planet found by an American. 
D) It was the massive jovian Lowell described as "Planet X" in his calculations. 
E) Cold and dark, it was named for the god of the underworld.

Exam 14: Solar System Debris: Keys to Our Origin

What is the defining property of the Trojan asteroids?

Why were the mass and density of Pluto unknown until Charon was found?

Which spacecraft performed a flyby of Pluto?

The type of asteroid that would appear darkest and reflect the least light is type:

Some meteorites found on Earth are believed to have originated on the Moon or Venus.

The major impact in the Yucatan wiped out the dinosaurs:

How does Pluto's behavior at perihelion support its planetary status?

Describe the properties of meteoroids.

Charon is Pluto's largest moon.

Common ices on Pluto's higher elevations include ________, ________ and ________.

Why do researchers believe that asteroids in the asteroid belt are primal rocks that did notmerge into a planet?

Meteor showers result when asteroids collide and this debris showers the inner solar system.

Pluto's bulk density is:

Carbonaceous meteorites are believed to come from:

What is the closest thing to a binary planet we find in the solar system, even though it doesn'tinclude a planet? Why?

Pluto's orbit takes it closer to the Sun than Neptune for part of its orbit.

Which of the following objects would be found on the Moon's surface?

All known asteroids can be found in the asteroid belt.

How did discovering the KBOs demote Pluto's planetary status?

Which statement about Pluto's discovery is FALSE?

Charting the Heavens: The Foundations of Astronomy

The Copernican Revolution: The Birth of Modern Science

Radiation: Information From the Cosmos

Spectroscopy: the Inner Workings of Atoms

Telescopes: The Tools of Astronomy

The Solar System: Comparative Planetology and Formation Models

Earth: Our Home in Space

The Moon and Mercury: Scorched and Battered Worlds

Venus: Earths Sister Planet

Mars: a Near Miss for Life

Jupiter: Giant of the Solar System

Saturn: Spectacular Rings and Mysterious Moons

Uranus and Neptune: The Outer Worlds of the Solar System

Exoplanets: Planetary Systems Beyond Our Own

The Sun: Our Parent Star

The Stars: Giants, Dwarfs, and the Main Sequence

The Interstellar Medium: Gas and Dust Among the Stars

Star Formation: a Traumatic Birth

Stellar Evolution: The Life and Death of a Star

Stellar Explosions: Novae, Supernovae, and the Formation of the Elements

Neutron Stars and Black Holes: Strange States of Matter

The Milky Way Galaxy: a Spiral in Space

Galaxies: Building Blocks of the Universe

Galaxies and Dark Matter: The Large-Scale Structure of the Cosmos

Cosmology: The Big Bang and the Fate of the Universe

The Early Universe: Toward the Beginning of Time

Life in the Universe: Are We Alone

Filters

Common ices on Pluto's higher elevations include , and .