Objects in the solar system QUIZ review

Objects in the solar system QUIZ review

Multiple Choice

A student is taking an animal science and an astronomy class. In animal sciences, she learns that pumas are called mountain lions and cougars in different parts of the world, but they are all the same cat. She makes an analogy, or comparison, to something she learned in her astronomy class. She says that a certain space object is like a puma because it is the same object but has different names depending on where it is. What space object is she thinking of?

• comet

• meteoroid

• asteroid

• meteoride

Multiple Choice

A dwarf planet is a

• small, rocky object that orbits the Sun and is usually found in a belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

• small object made of ice and dust that orbits the Sun and forms a coma as it approaches the Sun.

• round object that orbits the Sun but lacks the ability to clear the neighborhood around its orbit.

• meteoroid that burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, producing a streak of light.

DWARF PLANET

 a celestial body that -orbits the sun, has enough mass to assume a nearly round shape, has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit and is not a moon.

PLUTO

Is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It was the first and the largest Kuiper belt object to be discovered. After Pluto was discovered in 1930 it was declared to be the ninth planet from the Sun. Beginning in the 1990s, its status as a planet was questioned following the discovery of several objects of similar size in the Kuiper belt, including the dwarf planet Eris. This led the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in 2006 to formally define the term "planet" — excluding Pluto and reclassifying it as a dwarf planet.

Multiple Choice

Which statement about dwarf planet locations is correct?

• Eris is found in the Kuiper Belt and Makemake, Haumea, Ceres, and Pluto are found in the asteroid belt.

• Ceres is found in the asteroid belt and Eris, Makemake, Haumea, and Pluto are found in the Kuiper Belt.

• Ceres and Pluto are found in the Kuiper Belt and Makemake, Eris, and Haumea are found in the asteroid belt.

• Haumea and Makemake are found in the asteroid belt and Pluto, Ceres, and Eris are found in the Kuiper Belt.

Multiple Choice

What is a small, rocky object that orbits the Sun and is usually found in a belt between Mars and Jupiter?

• asteroid

• comet

• meteor

• meteorite

CERES

• Ceres is the largest object in the main asteroid belt that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. 

Multiple Choice

Shelly was surprised to learn the dwarf planet Pluto used to be considered a planet. What would have had to be true for Pluto to remain categorized as a planet?

• Pluto would need to have an atmosphere.

• Pluto would need to clear the neighborhood of its orbit.

• Pluto would need to have a larger moon.

• Pluto would need to have water or ice.

Clearing the neighborhood to be a planet means

 meaning it has become gravitationally dominant, and there are no other bodies of comparable size other than its natural satellites or those otherwise under its gravitational influence.

Multiple Choice

Abdid is an astronomer who has been observing objects that orbit the Sun in the asteroid belt. He finds a previously undiscovered round, rocky object that is not similar in shape to the rest of the asteroids. What has Abdid most likely found?

• a new dwarf planet

• a new asteroid

• a new moon

• a new comet

Multiple Choice

A scientist discovers a new object in the Kuiper Belt and claims it is a dwarf planet. What would have to be true about the object for the scientist to be correct?

• The object would have to be irregularly shaped, have an atmosphere, and be traveling in a path with other objects.

• The object would have to be irregularly shaped, orbit the Sun, and be traveling in a path free from other objects.

• The object would have to be spherical, orbit the Sun, and be traveling in a path with other objects.

Kuiper Belt

• The Kuiper belt, occasionally called the Edgeworth–Kuiper belt, is a circumstellar disc in the outer Solar System, extending from the orbit of Neptune to approximately 50 AU from the Sun. It is similar to the asteroid belt, but is far larger – 20 times as wide and 20–200 times as massive. Wikipedia

  
  

  Orbits: Sun

  Named after: Gerard Kuiper

  Orbited by: Pluto

Multiple Choice

A scientist discovers a new body between the orbit of Neptune and the Kuiper Belt. The object is round and travels in an orbit around Neptune with other space objects. The scientist claims that she has found a new dwarf planet. Where is the scientist’s error?

• The object is an asteroid, not a dwarf planet.

• The object is a moon, not a dwarf planet.

• The object is not a dwarf planet because it travels with other objects.

• The object is not a dwarf planet because it is round.

Multiple Choice

65 million years ago there was a mass extinction that is best known for killing the dinosaurs. There was also a large deposit of dust that contained substances only found in asteroids. What most likely killed off the dinosaurs?

• An asteroid impact caused the Sun to be blocked.

• They were crushed by an asteroid.

• The water supplies were polluted.

Multiple Choice

A scientist discovers a deep bowl-like divot under the ocean off the coast of eastern Mexico that is many kilometers across. The layers of the ground all around the continent from around the time that structure formed contain large amounts of iridium and a larger number of fossils than is normally found. What most likely caused the bowl-like structure?

• a meteorite impact

• an asteroid impact

• an iridium spike

• a Kuiper object impact

Multiple Choice

Iridium is a substance found only in asteroids and other space objects. This graph shows the amount of Iridium found in different sediment layers of Earth. They are marked off into 17 sections representing time.

What most likely happened in sediment layer 5?

• A massive volcano erupted, causing global warming and lava flow, which in turn caused mass extinction.

• More iridium was produced by space objects and dumped by local factories.

• A massive dust cloud formed, causing global cooling and a lack of sunshine. This in turn caused a lack of plants and a mass extinction.

Multiple Choice

Which terms describe space objects that are small chunks of rock and debris that are smaller than 1 km?

• meteoroids

  meteors

  meteorites

• meteoroids

  asteroids

  meteors

• meteors

  meteorites

  comets

Multiple Choice

A scientist is tracking an object orbiting the Sun that is found between Mars and Jupiter. Which additional feature can be used to determine the object is an asteroid?

• produces a coma

• has an irregular shape

• has a tail of ice and dust

• produces a streak of light

Multiple Choice

Where is the Oort cloud located?

• in the innermost region of the solar system, closest to the Sun

• in the outermost region of the solar system, beyond Neptune

• in the region between the Kuiper belt and the scattered disk

• in the region beyond Neptune, but closer to the Sun than the Kuiper belt

The Oort Cloud

 The Oort Cloud lies far beyond Pluto and the most distant edges of the Kuiper Belt. While the planets of our solar system orbit in a flat plane, the Oort Cloud is believed to be a giant spherical shell surrounding the Sun, planets and Kuiper Belt Objects

What is the oort cloud made of?

is made up of icy pieces of space debris. Sometimes those debris are jostled out of the cloud and fall toward the Sun, becoming comets.

Multiple Choice

A comet is a

• meteoroid that travels through Earth’s atmosphere and hits the surface.

• meteoroid that burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, producing a streak of light.

• small, rocky object that orbits the Sun and is usually found in a belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

• small object made of ice and dust that orbits the Sun and forms a coma as it approaches the Sun.

Multiple Choice

Mischka is an amateur astronomer. Using her telescope, she looks out past the Earth’s atmosphere and observes an object with a long, bright, cloud-like tail behind it. What is Mischka observing?

• an asteroid

• a meteorite

• a comet

• a meteoroid

Multiple Choice

In a Venn diagram, the separate circles contain characteristics unique to each item being compared and the intersections contain characteristics that are common to both items being compared. This Venn diagram compares meteoroids, asteroids, and comets.

Multiple Choice

Which term specifically describes small chunks of rocks and debris in space that travel through the Earth’s atmosphere and hit its surface?

• meteorites

• meteoroids

• meteors

• meteorides

Multiple Choice

Annalise observes a streak of light in the sky and says she is seeing a shooting star. What is she most likely observing?

• a falling star

• an asteroid

• a meteor

• a dwarf planet

Multiple Choice

A scientist finds a piece of rock in a crater. He analyzes the rock and realizes that the composition is mostly of iron and nickel. He claims that he found a meteor. What is most likely the scientist’s error?

• He actually found a meteorite.

• His analysis of the composition is not correct.

• He incorrectly used the term “crater.”

• He actually found a meteoroid.