Question 1

Which of the following are evidence for an asteroid impact being the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago (as well as 75% of all species alive at the time)?

Accepted Answer

A) a worldwide layer of the element iridium in 65 million year old rocks 
B) no dinosaur fossils being present in rocks younger than 65 million years old 
C) a buried crater more than 100 km across in the Gulf of Mexico 
D) all of the above

Question 2

Which of the following statements about comets best describes the light we can observe?

Accepted Answer

A) A comet emits visible light and reflects infrared light. 
B) A comet emits no light, but reflects visible light. 
C) A comet emits infrared light and reflects visible light. 
D) A comet emits visible light and infrared light.

Question 3

Pluto has 5 known moons.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 4

Refer to the following scenario for the questions below.
Lost in the Solar System: You have been abducted by an alien being. After performing experiments on you, the alien gives you a "life- support belt", allowing you to survive in any environment, and dumps you somewhere in the solar system. Each question below gives a brief description of a place where you were left by the alien. Identify your location. Be as specific as possible. Include a brief explanation for your answer.
-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; it's 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

The answer of Refer to the following scenario for the...

Question 5

What is Tunguska?

Accepted Answer

A) a postulated binary companion to the Sun thought to be responsible for mass extinctions 
B) a long period comet that struck Jupiter in 1994 
C) a newly discovered moon of Pluto 
D) the site of an asteroid impact that occurred in Siberia in 1908 
E) the Gulf of Mexico basin that is the crater of the asteroid impact that caused the mass extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago

Question 6

Why won't Pluto collide with Neptune?

Accepted Answer

A) Pluto orbits the Sun exactly two times for every three Neptune orbits, which ensures they never come close together. 
B) Pluto is always much farther from the Sun than Neptune. 
C) Actually, a collision of the two is inevitable within the next billion years. 
D) Pluto's orbit never comes anywhere close to Neptune's orbit.

Question 7

Approximately how long ago was Pluto discovered?

Accepted Answer

A) about 200 years ago 
B) in ancient history 
C) about 25 years ago 
D) about 75 years ago 
E) about 2000 years ago

Question 8

How many moons is Pluto known to have?

Accepted Answer

A) four 
B) three 
C) none 
D) two 
E) one

Question 9

Suppose the planet Jupiter had never formed. How do you think the distribution of asteroids and comets in our solar system would be different? Explain.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Suppose the planet Jupiter had never formed....

Question 10

What do we mean by a mass extinction?

Accepted Answer

A) an extinction caused by the impact of an asteroid or comet 
B) the extinction of a large fraction of the world's plant and animal species in a relatively short period of time 
C) the extinction of any species of plant or animal that has mass 
D) the extinction of large animals, such as dinosaurs

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

A) It missed the comet altogether. 
B) It landed safely on the surface of the comet and returned material to Earth. 
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 created a small crater on the comet.

Question 12

What was the Shoemaker- Levy 9 impact?

Accepted Answer

A) the ninth impact witnessed by astronomers in modern times 
B) the impact that created the Moon's largest crater 
C) the 1994 impact of a chain of comet fragments into Jupiter 
D) the impact thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs

Question 13

In what way(s)has Pluto long been known to be different from the planets?

Accepted Answer

A) It is composed primarily of ices. 
B) It is far smaller than the terrestrial planets. 
C) It has a highly eccentric orbit. 
D) Its orbit is more inclined to the ecliptic plane. 
E) All of the above

Question 14

When we see a meteor shower, it means that .

Accepted Answer

A) the solar wind is unusually strong 
B) you should duck and run for cover to avoid being blasted on the head by a rock from space 
C) an Earth- approaching asteroid has recently come very close to our planet 
D) Earth is crossing the orbit of a comet

Question 15

The asteroid belt is located .

Accepted Answer

A) between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn 
B) beyond the orbit of Neptune 
C) between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter 
D) between the orbits of Earth and Mars

Question 16

Which of the following is furthest from the Sun?

Accepted Answer

A) an asteroid in the asteroid belt 
B) Neptune 
C) a comet in the Kuiper belt 
D) a comet in the Oort cloud 
E) Pluto

Question 17

What was the Stardust mission?

Accepted Answer

A) a mission to study the composition of an asteroid by hitting it with a massive object and observing the material thrown into space 
B) a mission to study the outer planets of the solar system by sending a probe from one to the next with a wide variety of instruments 
C) a mission to study the composition of a comet by collecting material from its tail and return that material to Earth 
D) a mission to study the surface structure of a comet by dropping a lander onto its surface

Question 18

Refer to the following scenario for the questions below.
Lost in the Solar System: You have been abducted by an alien being. After performing experiments on you, the alien gives you a "life- support belt", allowing you to survive in any environment, and dumps you somewhere in the solar system. Each question below gives a brief description of a place where you were left by the alien. Identify your location. Be as specific as possible. Include a brief explanation for your answer.
-It's cold. You are sitting on what appears to be a water ice- covered world. The Sun is low on the horizon and circles the horizon once every 24 hours. Despite the low Sun, you can almost "feel" the Sun's ultraviolet radiation on your exposed face because there is little ozone to protect you. Despite these discomforts, you are pleased to find that the air is quite satisfactory; oxygen seems plentiful and you are able to breathe even without the
life- support belt.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Refer to the following scenario for the...

Question 19

What characteristic distinguishes a meteorite from a terrestrial rock?

Accepted Answer

A) A meteorite usually has a high metal content. 
B) Meteorites contain rare elements, such as iridium, that terrestrial rocks do not. 
C) Meteorites have different isotope ratios of particular elements when compared to terrestrial rocks. 
D) A meteorite is usually covered with a dark crust from burning in Earth's atmosphere. 
E) All of the above are true.

Question 20

How frequently do objects that threaten widespread devastation hit the Earth?

Accepted Answer

A) about once every thousand years 
B) about once every million years 
C) about once every year 
D) about once every hundred million years

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

Which of the following are evidence for an asteroid impact being the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago (as well as 75% of all species alive at the time) ?

Which of the following statements about comets best describes the light we can observe?

Pluto has 5 known moons.

What is Tunguska?

Why won't Pluto collide with Neptune?

Approximately how long ago was Pluto discovered?

How many moons is Pluto known to have?

Suppose the planet Jupiter had never formed. How do you think the distribution of asteroids and comets in our solar system would be different? Explain.

What do we mean by a mass extinction?

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

What was the Shoemaker- Levy 9 impact?

In what way(s) has Pluto long been known to be different from the planets?

When we see a meteor shower, it means that .

The asteroid belt is located .

Which of the following is furthest from the Sun?

What was the Stardust mission?

What characteristic distinguishes a meteorite from a terrestrial rock?

How frequently do objects that threaten widespread devastation hit the Earth?