Question 1

Why is the Kuiper belt flat but the Oort cloud spherical?

Accepted Answer

The difference is that the comets in the

Question 2

Briefly describe how an impact could lead to a mass extinction.

Accepted Answer

A large impact could send huge quantitie

Question 3

Suppose you find a meteorite made almost entirely of metal. According to current science, which of the following statements must be true?

Accepted Answer

A)  Your meteorite is a fragment from the core of a large asteroid that shattered in a collision. 
B)  Radiometric dating will show the age of your meteorite to date to the formation of our solar system. 
C)  Your meteorite was blasted off the surface of Mars by an impact. 
D)  Your meteorite is a fragment of an object from the Kuiper belt. 
A)  Your meteorite is a fragment from the core of a large asteroid that shattered in a collision. 
B)  Radiometric dating will show the age of your meteorite to date to the formation of our solar system. 
C)  Your meteorite was blasted off the surface of Mars by an impact. 
D)  Your meteorite is a fragment of an object from the Kuiper belt.

Question 4

A comet that has an orbit around the Sun inclined to the ecliptic plane by 65° probably originated in the Kuiper belt.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

If we could put all the asteroids together, their total mass would be ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  much less than the mass of any terrestrial planet 
B)  about the mass of Mercury 
C)  about the mass of Earth 
D)  greater than the mass of Earth but less than the mass of Jupiter 
A)  much less than the mass of any terrestrial planet 
B)  about the mass of Mercury 
C)  about the mass of Earth 
D)  greater than the mass of Earth but less than the mass of Jupiter

Question 6

Why aren't small asteroids spherical in shape?

Accepted Answer

A)  The strength of gravity on small asteroids is less than the strength of the rock. 
B)  Small asteroids have odd shapes because they were all chipped off larger objects. 
C)  Large asteroids were once molten and therefore became spherical, but small asteroids were never molten. 
D)  Large asteroids became spherical because many small collisions chipped off pieces until only a sphere was left; this did not occur with small asteroids. 
A)  The strength of gravity on small asteroids is less than the strength of the rock. 
B)  Small asteroids have odd shapes because they were all chipped off larger objects. 
C)  Large asteroids were once molten and therefore became spherical, but small asteroids were never molten. 
D)  Large asteroids became spherical because many small collisions chipped off pieces until only a sphere was left; this did not occur with small asteroids.

Question 7

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

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 8

Describe at least three ways in which our solar system would be different if orbital resonances had never been important.

Accepted Answer

Many possible answers; without orbital r

Question 9

Classification in Science: Usually, the first task of any science is to classify the available observations. Often, the initial classification scheme reflects the historical order of discovery in addition to nature itself. In this question, we will use our solar system as an example. Make a complete list of all of the solar system components that you have studied in the last three chapters. Then try to place this list in historical order of discovery. For example, start your list with the Sun, Moon, Earth, and 5 "classical" planets, which have been known for all of human history, and end your list with Eris, the largest currently known Kuiper Belt object. Can you see the historical order of discovery reflected in the classification of objects on your list? Have there been occasions when this classification scheme has been revised? Finally, does the classification scheme for the solar system introduce any artificial divisions, making strict categories from objects with a continuous range of properties?

Accepted Answer

The solar system components studied in t

Question 10

Processed meteorites with high metal content probably are

Accepted Answer

A)  leftover chunks of rock from the earliest period in the formation of the solar system. 
B)  pieces of comets rather than of asteroids. 
C)  chunks of the core of a larger asteroid that was shattered by a collision. 
D)  chunks of rock chipped off the planet Mercury. 
E)  chunks of rock chipped off the planet Mars. 
A)  leftover chunks of rock from the earliest period in the formation of the solar system. 
B)  pieces of comets rather than of asteroids. 
C)  chunks of the core of a larger asteroid that was shattered by a collision. 
D)  chunks of rock chipped off the planet Mercury. 
E)  chunks of rock chipped off the planet Mars.

Question 11

You are walking on a solid surface. The surface gravity is comfortable, but it is "hot, hot, hot!" Your body is being squeezed in all directions due to the high pressure; its almost like being deep in the ocean. Your life-support belt is corroding. The Sun, barely visible through the haze, is near your meridian. You hope for nightfall (unaware that it would provide no relief), but you already have been stuck on this planet for nearly 72 hours, and the Sun seems not to have moved through the sky (and, if it moved at all, it moved eastward from the meridian).

Accepted Answer

You are on Venus. The slow, ba

Question 12

Pluto is different from the Jovian planets in all of the following ways except which one?

Accepted Answer

A)  It formed outside of the frost line in the solar nebula. 
B)  It is made mostly of ices. 
C)  Its orbit is not very close to being circular. 
D)  It has a solid surface. 
E)  It doesn't have rings. 
A)  It formed outside of the frost line in the solar nebula. 
B)  It is made mostly of ices. 
C)  Its orbit is not very close to being circular. 
D)  It has a solid surface. 
E)  It doesn't have rings.

Question 13

Primitive meteorites can be distinguished from other meteorites and terrestrial rocks because they

Accepted Answer

A)  contain a noticeable fraction of pure metallic flakes. 
B)  resemble the composition of Earth's core. 
C)  contain a lot of iron and were used by humans to make iron tools. 
D)  resemble the composition of Earth's mantle. 
E)  resemble the composition of rocks from lava flows that occurred on asteroids very shortly after the formation of the solar system. 
A)  contain a noticeable fraction of pure metallic flakes. 
B)  resemble the composition of Earth's core. 
C)  contain a lot of iron and were used by humans to make iron tools. 
D)  resemble the composition of Earth's mantle. 
E)  resemble the composition of rocks from lava flows that occurred on asteroids very shortly after the formation of the solar system.

Question 14

A spacecraft traveling through the asteroid belt has a high risk of being destroyed through a collision.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Refer to the following choices to answer the questions below. Chose the answer that best describes the chemical composition of the object.
-Mercury's core

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 16

Briefly describe the evidence suggesting that a 10-km asteroid or comet hit Earth at the time of the dinosaur extinction.

Accepted Answer

A layer of clay at this level in the sed

Question 17

When you see the bright flash of a meteor, what are you actually seeing?

Accepted Answer

A)  The glow from a pea-size particle and the surrounding air as the particle burns up in our atmosphere 
B)  Emission of visible light from a particle that has not yet entered Earth's atmosphere 
C)  A star that has suddenly shot across the sky 
D)  The flash that occurs when a speeding rock from space hits the ground 
A)  The glow from a pea-size particle and the surrounding air as the particle burns up in our atmosphere 
B)  Emission of visible light from a particle that has not yet entered Earth's atmosphere 
C)  A star that has suddenly shot across the sky 
D)  The flash that occurs when a speeding rock from space hits the ground

Question 18

According to the nebular theory, how did the Oort cloud 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 19

Meteorites can come from

Accepted Answer

A)  the cores of asteroids. 
B)  the crusts and mantles of asteroids 
C)  the Moon. 
D)  Mars 
E)  all of the above 
A)  the cores of asteroids. 
B)  the crusts and mantles of asteroids 
C)  the Moon. 
D)  Mars 
E)  all of the above

Question 20

What happened to the "Impactor" of the Deep Impact mission?

Accepted Answer

A)  It landed safely on the surface of the comet and returned material to Earth. 
B)  It created a small crater on the comet. 
C)  It blasted straight through the comet leaving a small hole. 
D)  It blasted the comet apart, thus preventing a potential Earth collision. 
E)  It missed the comet altogether. 
A)  It landed safely on the surface of the comet and returned material to Earth. 
B)  It created a small crater on the comet. 
C)  It blasted straight through the comet leaving a small hole. 
D)  It blasted the comet apart, thus preventing a potential Earth collision. 
E)  It missed the comet altogether.

Why is the Kuiper belt flat but the Oort cloud spherical?

Briefly describe how an impact could lead to a mass extinction.

Suppose you find a meteorite made almost entirely of metal. According to current science, which of the following statements must be true?

A comet that has an orbit around the Sun inclined to the ecliptic plane by 65° probably originated in the Kuiper belt.

If we could put all the asteroids together, their total mass would be ________.

Why aren't small asteroids spherical in shape?

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

Describe at least three ways in which our solar system would be different if orbital resonances had never been important.

Processed meteorites with high metal content probably are

Pluto is different from the Jovian planets in all of the following ways except which one?

Primitive meteorites can be distinguished from other meteorites and terrestrial rocks because they

A spacecraft traveling through the asteroid belt has a high risk of being destroyed through a collision.

Refer to the following choices to answer the questions below. Chose the answer that best describes the chemical composition of the object. -Mercury's core

Briefly describe the evidence suggesting that a 10-km asteroid or comet hit Earth at the time of the dinosaur extinction.

When you see the bright flash of a meteor, what are you actually seeing?

According to the nebular theory, how did the Oort cloud form?

Meteorites can come from

What happened to the "Impactor" of the Deep Impact mission?

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

Why is the Kuiper belt flat but the Oort cloud spherical?

Briefly describe how an impact could lead to a mass extinction.

Suppose you find a meteorite made almost entirely of metal. According to current science, which of the following statements must be true?

A comet that has an orbit around the Sun inclined to the ecliptic plane by 65° probably originated in the Kuiper belt.

If we could put all the asteroids together, their total mass would be ________.

Why aren't small asteroids spherical in shape?

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

Describe at least three ways in which our solar system would be different if orbital resonances had never been important.

Processed meteorites with high metal content probably are

Pluto is different from the Jovian planets in all of the following ways except which one?

Primitive meteorites can be distinguished from other meteorites and terrestrial rocks because they

A spacecraft traveling through the asteroid belt has a high risk of being destroyed through a collision.

Refer to the following choices to answer the questions below. Chose the answer that best describes the chemical composition of the object. -Mercury's core

Briefly describe the evidence suggesting that a 10-km asteroid or comet hit Earth at the time of the dinosaur extinction.

When you see the bright flash of a meteor, what are you actually seeing?

According to the nebular theory, how did the Oort cloud form?

Meteorites can come from

What happened to the "Impactor" of the Deep Impact mission?

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