Question 1

Contrast the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt.

Accepted Answer

In the Oort Cloud comets have orbits up

Question 2

What are comets made of?

Accepted Answer

A)  silicates and rocky dust 
B)  metallic dust particles 
C)  dark colored complex hydrocarbons 
D)  methane, ammonia, and water ice 
E)  All of the above. 
A)  silicates and rocky dust 
B)  metallic dust particles 
C)  dark colored complex hydrocarbons 
D)  methane, ammonia, and water ice 
E)  All of the above.

Question 3

Which of the following gives direct information about the age of the solar system?

Accepted Answer

A)  Martian meteorites 
B)  meteorites from asteroidal debris 
C)  the solar wind 
D)  the oldest Martian basalts 
E)  the oldest lunar basalts 
A)  Martian meteorites 
B)  meteorites from asteroidal debris 
C)  the solar wind 
D)  the oldest Martian basalts 
E)  the oldest lunar basalts

Question 4

Pluto is most similar to:

Accepted Answer

A)  Europa. 
B)  Miranda. 
C)  Triton. 
D)  our Moon. 
E)  Mercury. 
A)  Europa. 
B)  Miranda. 
C)  Triton. 
D)  our Moon. 
E)  Mercury.

Question 5

Pluto is smaller than many moons in the solar system.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

When it was determined that Sedna has a perihelion distance that is three times further out than Pluto and such an eccentric orbit that it has a period of thousands of years,it was placed in the:

Accepted Answer

A)  Trojan Asteroids. 
B)  Kuiper Belt. 
C)  Kirkwood Gap. 
D)  Oort Cloud. 
E)  Rogue Comets. 
A)  Trojan Asteroids. 
B)  Kuiper Belt. 
C)  Kirkwood Gap. 
D)  Oort Cloud. 
E)  Rogue Comets.

Question 7

When a formal definition of a planet in the solar system was adopted,Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet.What characteristic of planets does NOT describe Pluto?

Accepted Answer

A)  Planets orbit the Sun. 
B)  Planets are approximately spherical. 
C)  Planets have cleared the neighborhood around their orbit. 
D)  Planets orbit in ellipses with low eccentricity. 
E)  Planets orbit in or very near the ecliptic plane. 
A)  Planets orbit the Sun. 
B)  Planets are approximately spherical. 
C)  Planets have cleared the neighborhood around their orbit. 
D)  Planets orbit in ellipses with low eccentricity. 
E)  Planets orbit in or very near the ecliptic plane.

Question 8

Briefly explain how an impact event 65 million years ago could have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Accepted Answer

It could have kicked up enough dust to d

Question 9

The type of asteroid that would be the densest would be type:

Accepted Answer

A)  C. 
B)  M. 
C)  S. 
D)  V. 
E)  Z. 
A)  C. 
B)  M. 
C)  S. 
D)  V. 
E)  Z.

Question 10

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 the 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 the 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 11

Describe the properties of meteoroids.

Accepted Answer

Objects of rocky material,from

Question 12

Typically,no more than a couple dozen potentially hazardous asteroids approach the Earth as close as 0.05 AU each decade.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Which asteroid did Dawn visit first and which is second in its planned mission?

Accepted Answer

A)  Mathilde, Eros 
B)  Ida, Dactyl 
C)  Vesta, Ceres 
D)  Gaspra, Ida 
E)  Pallas, Ceres 
A)  Mathilde, Eros 
B)  Ida, Dactyl 
C)  Vesta, Ceres 
D)  Gaspra, Ida 
E)  Pallas, Ceres

Question 14

Define Trojan asteroids.

Accepted Answer

Asteroids found sharing the or

Question 15

What part of a comet has only been seen by a space probe?

Accepted Answer

A)  meteoroid trail 
B)  dust tail 
C)  ion tail 
D)  coma 
E)  nucleus 
A)  meteoroid trail 
B)  dust tail 
C)  ion tail 
D)  coma 
E)  nucleus

Question 16

Triton and Pluto both probably originated in the Kuiper Belt.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 17

The nucleus,or main solid body,of a comet has a typical size of:

Accepted Answer

A)  a few centimeters. 
B)  a few meters. 
C)  a few kilometers. 
D)  a few hundred kilometers. 
E)  a few thousand kilometers. 
A)  a few centimeters. 
B)  a few meters. 
C)  a few kilometers. 
D)  a few hundred kilometers. 
E)  a few thousand kilometers.

Question 18

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.

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

In March 2004,a new world,Sedna,with a comet-like orbit and a perihelion over three times farther out than Pluto's was announced.What did this do to Pluto's status as a major planet?

Accepted Answer

Although Sedna is probably not part of P

Exam 14: Solar System Debris: Keys to Our Origin

Contrast the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt.

What are comets made of?

Which of the following gives direct information about the age of the solar system?

Pluto is most similar to:

Pluto is smaller than many moons in the solar system.

When it was determined that Sedna has a perihelion distance that is three times further out than Pluto and such an eccentric orbit that it has a period of thousands of years,it was placed in the:

When a formal definition of a planet in the solar system was adopted,Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet.What characteristic of planets does NOT describe Pluto?

Briefly explain how an impact event 65 million years ago could have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

The type of asteroid that would be the densest would be type:

What is the defining property of the Trojan asteroids?

Describe the properties of meteoroids.

Typically,no more than a couple dozen potentially hazardous asteroids approach the Earth as close as 0.05 AU each decade.

Which asteroid did Dawn visit first and which is second in its planned mission?

Define Trojan asteroids.

What part of a comet has only been seen by a space probe?

Triton and Pluto both probably originated in the Kuiper Belt.

The nucleus,or main solid body,of a comet has a typical size of:

Which statement about Pluto's discovery is FALSE?

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

In March 2004,a new world,Sedna,with a comet-like orbit and a perihelion over three times farther out than Pluto's was announced.What did this do to Pluto's status as a major planet?

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: Earth's 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?

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