Question 1

Comets with extremely elliptical orbits, like Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp,

Accepted Answer

A)  come from the asteroid belt. 
B)  come from the Kuiper belt. 
C)  come from the Oort cloud. 
D)  are Trojan comets. 
E)  are captured by Jupiter. 
A)  come from the asteroid belt. 
B)  come from the Kuiper belt. 
C)  come from the Oort cloud. 
D)  are Trojan comets. 
E)  are captured by Jupiter.

Question 2

Oort-cloud comets are so far from the Sun that the gravity of neighboring stars can alter their orbits.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

According to the nebular theory, how did the Kuiper belt form?

Accepted Answer

A)  It is material left over from the interstellar cloud that never contracted with the rest of the gases to form the solar nebula. 
B)  It is made of planetesimals that formed beyond Neptune's orbit and never accreted to form a planet. 
C)  It consists of objects that fragmented from the protosun during a catastrophic collision early in the formation of the solar system. 
D)  It is made of planetesimals between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter that never formed into a planet. 
E)  It is made of planetesimals formed in the outer solar system that were flung into distant orbits by encounters with the jovian planets. 
A)  It is material left over from the interstellar cloud that never contracted with the rest of the gases to form the solar nebula. 
B)  It is made of planetesimals that formed beyond Neptune's orbit and never accreted to form a planet. 
C)  It consists of objects that fragmented from the protosun during a catastrophic collision early in the formation of the solar system. 
D)  It is made of planetesimals between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter that never formed into a planet. 
E)  It is made of planetesimals formed in the outer solar system that were flung into distant orbits by encounters with the jovian planets.

Question 4

Which of the following statements is not true?

Accepted Answer

A)  Objects in the Kuiper belt are made mostly of rock and metal. 
B)  Objects in the asteroid belt are made mostly of rock and metal. 
C)  Objects in the Oort cloud contain large proportions of ice. 
D)  Objects in the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt orbit the Sun in nearly the same plane as the planets, but objects in the Oort cloud do not. 
A)  Objects in the Kuiper belt are made mostly of rock and metal. 
B)  Objects in the asteroid belt are made mostly of rock and metal. 
C)  Objects in the Oort cloud contain large proportions of ice. 
D)  Objects in the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt orbit the Sun in nearly the same plane as the planets, but objects in the Oort cloud do not.

Question 5

What is Eris?

Accepted Answer

A)  Pluto's largest moon 
B)  the largest known asteroid 
C)  the largest known Kuiper Belt object 
D)  The largest moon of Saturn 
E)  The largest known extrasolar planet 
A)  Pluto's largest moon 
B)  the largest known asteroid 
C)  the largest known Kuiper Belt object 
D)  The largest moon of Saturn 
E)  The largest known extrasolar planet

Question 6

Assume that the average rate of 1-km sized asteroids hitting the Earth is about 1 every million years. The chance of the Earth being hit by a 1-km sized asteroid in the next 100 years is about:

Accepted Answer

A)  one in a million. 
B)  inevitable, it has to happen sometime. 
C)  zero. 
D)  one in 100 million. 
E)  one in ten thousand. 
A)  one in a million. 
B)  inevitable, it has to happen sometime. 
C)  zero. 
D)  one in 100 million. 
E)  one in ten thousand.

Question 7

It is very cold, but otherwise comfortable. You breathe deeply. Although there is no oxygen, the air pressure is quite tolerable and seems almost Earth-like (because it is mostly nitrogen). Your vista includes the breathtaking sights of an ocean of liquid methane and methane-snow-capped mountains (although the atmosphere is very smoggy, and the visibility is limited). Your solar day is about 16 Earth days long. A large, ringed object seems to hang in your sky, never rising or setting; however, it does go through phases from new to full and back to new again with the same 16-day period as the rising and setting of the Sun.

Accepted Answer

You are on Titan, a moon of Sa

Question 8

Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that Pluto is a large comet of the Kuiper belt?

Accepted Answer

A)  Pluto grows a coma and a long tail when it is at the point in its orbit closest to the Sun. 
B)  Pluto's composition appears to match that of other known Kuiper belt comets. 
C)  Triton, which must once have orbited the Sun before being captured by Neptune, is significantly larger than Pluto. 
D)  Pluto's orbit is very similar to the orbits of other known Kuiper belt comets. 
E)  Pluto is not the largest object orbiting in the region of the Kuiper belt. 
A)  Pluto grows a coma and a long tail when it is at the point in its orbit closest to the Sun. 
B)  Pluto's composition appears to match that of other known Kuiper belt comets. 
C)  Triton, which must once have orbited the Sun before being captured by Neptune, is significantly larger than Pluto. 
D)  Pluto's orbit is very similar to the orbits of other known Kuiper belt comets. 
E)  Pluto is not the largest object orbiting in the region of the Kuiper belt.

Question 9

Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that an impact caused the mass extinction that occurred 65 million years ago?

Accepted Answer

A)  Fossilized dinosaur bones contain fragments of rock from the impact. 
B)  Unusually large abundances of iridium and other rare metals are found in a layer of clay that dates to 65 million years ago. 
C)  A large impact crater along the coast of Mexico dates to 65 million years ago. 
D)  Grains of quartz formed under high pressure are found in a layer of clay that dates to 65 million years ago. 
A)  Fossilized dinosaur bones contain fragments of rock from the impact. 
B)  Unusually large abundances of iridium and other rare metals are found in a layer of clay that dates to 65 million years ago. 
C)  A large impact crater along the coast of Mexico dates to 65 million years ago. 
D)  Grains of quartz formed under high pressure are found in a layer of clay that dates to 65 million years ago.

Question 10

Which of the following statements about comets and asteroids is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  Only asteroids collide with Earth. 
B)  Comets are balls of ice and dust. 
C)  Most of the trillions of comets in our solar system have tails. 
D)  All asteroids lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. 
E)  There are about 1 million known asteroids in the solar system. 
A)  Only asteroids collide with Earth. 
B)  Comets are balls of ice and dust. 
C)  Most of the trillions of comets in our solar system have tails. 
D)  All asteroids lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. 
E)  There are about 1 million known asteroids in the solar system.

Question 11

What is Charon?

Accepted Answer

A)  Pluto's largest moon 
B)  the largest known asteroid 
C)  the largest known comet 
D)  one of the Galilean moons of Jupiter 
E)  a moon of Neptune 
A)  Pluto's largest moon 
B)  the largest known asteroid 
C)  the largest known comet 
D)  one of the Galilean moons of Jupiter 
E)  a moon of Neptune

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Which of the following objects are probably not located in the same general region of the solar system in which they originally formed?

Accepted Answer

A)  Oort cloud comets 
B)  Kuiper belt comets 
C)  asteroids of the asteroid belt 
D)  Pluto 
A)  Oort cloud comets 
B)  Kuiper belt comets 
C)  asteroids of the asteroid belt 
D)  Pluto

Question 14

During the time that a comet passes through the inner solar system, the comet can appear quite bright because

Accepted Answer

A)  increasing friction causes the comet's nucleus to glow. 
B)  heat from the Sun causes the comet's nucleus to glow. 
C)  sunlight reflects off the comet's tail and coma. 
D)  sunlight reflects off the comet's nucleus. 
A)  increasing friction causes the comet's nucleus to glow. 
B)  heat from the Sun causes the comet's nucleus to glow. 
C)  sunlight reflects off the comet's tail and coma. 
D)  sunlight reflects off the comet's nucleus.

Question 15

What do astronomers mean when they refer to "gaps" in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter?

Accepted Answer

A)  There are very few asteroids with diameters between 1 and 100 kilometers, creating a "gap" in the size distribution. 
B)  Asteroids typically cluster together and this creates "gaps" on the sky. 
C)  Asteroids seem to avoid certain orbits around the Sun, creating "gaps" in the orbits that asteroids can have. 
D)  There is a large population of asteroids too faint to see called the "gap" asteroids. 
E)  There are either pure metal or pure rock asteroids, but no mixtures. Thus there is a "gap" in the composition of asteroids. 
A)  There are very few asteroids with diameters between 1 and 100 kilometers, creating a "gap" in the size distribution. 
B)  Asteroids typically cluster together and this creates "gaps" on the sky. 
C)  Asteroids seem to avoid certain orbits around the Sun, creating "gaps" in the orbits that asteroids can have. 
D)  There is a large population of asteroids too faint to see called the "gap" asteroids. 
E)  There are either pure metal or pure rock asteroids, but no mixtures. Thus there is a "gap" in the composition of asteroids.

Question 16

What is the approximate diameter of the largest asteroid?

Accepted Answer

A)  1 km 
B)  10 km 
C)  100 km 
D)  1,000 km 
E)  10,000 km 
A)  1 km 
B)  10 km 
C)  100 km 
D)  1,000 km 
E)  10,000 km

Question 17

According to current evidence, Pluto is best explained as ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  a large member of the Kuiper belt 
B)  a terrestrial planet that is surprisingly far from the Sun 
C)  a very small jovian planet 
D)  an escaped moon of Jupiter or Saturn 
A)  a large member of the Kuiper belt 
B)  a terrestrial planet that is surprisingly far from the Sun 
C)  a very small jovian planet 
D)  an escaped moon of Jupiter or Saturn

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

Meteorites are usually covered with a da

Question 19

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

Accepted Answer

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 
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

Question 20

All meteorites collected on Earth come from asteroids or comets.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Comets with extremely elliptical orbits, like Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp,

Oort-cloud comets are so far from the Sun that the gravity of neighboring stars can alter their orbits.

According to the nebular theory, how did the Kuiper belt form?

Which of the following statements is not true?

What is Eris?

Assume that the average rate of 1-km sized asteroids hitting the Earth is about 1 every million years. The chance of the Earth being hit by a 1-km sized asteroid in the next 100 years is about:

Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that Pluto is a large comet of the Kuiper belt?

Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that an impact caused the mass extinction that occurred 65 million years ago?

Which of the following statements about comets and asteroids is true?

What is Charon?

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

Which of the following objects are probably not located in the same general region of the solar system in which they originally formed?

During the time that a comet passes through the inner solar system, the comet can appear quite bright because

What do astronomers mean when they refer to "gaps" in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter?

What is the approximate diameter of the largest asteroid?

According to current evidence, Pluto is best explained as ________.

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

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

All meteorites collected on Earth come from asteroids or comets.

Our Place in the Universe

Discovering the Universe for Yourself

The Science of Astronomy

Making Sense of the Universe: Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity

Light: the Cosmic Messenger

Formation of Planetary Systems: Our Solar System and Beyond

Earth and the Terrestrial Worlds

Jovian Planet Systems

Our Star

Surveying the Stars

Star Stuff

Bizarre Stellar Graveyard

Our Galaxy

Galaxies and the Foundation of Modern Cosmology

Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Universe

The Beginning of Time

Life in the Universe

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

Comets with extremely elliptical orbits, like Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp,

Oort-cloud comets are so far from the Sun that the gravity of neighboring stars can alter their orbits.

According to the nebular theory, how did the Kuiper belt form?

Which of the following statements is not true?

What is Eris?

Assume that the average rate of 1-km sized asteroids hitting the Earth is about 1 every million years. The chance of the Earth being hit by a 1-km sized asteroid in the next 100 years is about:

Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that Pluto is a large comet of the Kuiper belt?

Which of the following is not a piece of evidence supporting the idea that an impact caused the mass extinction that occurred 65 million years ago?

Which of the following statements about comets and asteroids is true?

What is Charon?

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

Which of the following objects are probably not located in the same general region of the solar system in which they originally formed?

During the time that a comet passes through the inner solar system, the comet can appear quite bright because

What do astronomers mean when they refer to "gaps" in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter?

What is the approximate diameter of the largest asteroid?

According to current evidence, Pluto is best explained as ________.

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

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

All meteorites collected on Earth come from asteroids or comets.

Our Place in the Universe

Discovering the Universe for Yourself

The Science of Astronomy

Making Sense of the Universe: Understanding Motion, Energy, and Gravity

Light: the Cosmic Messenger

Formation of Planetary Systems: Our Solar System and Beyond

Earth and the Terrestrial Worlds

Jovian Planet Systems

Our Star

Surveying the Stars

Star Stuff

Bizarre Stellar Graveyard

Our Galaxy

Galaxies and the Foundation of Modern Cosmology

Dark Matter, Dark Energy, and the Fate of the Universe

The Beginning of Time

Life in the Universe

Filters