Minor Planets and Comets.

Multiple Choice

How many dwarf planets are there?

• 3
• 7
• 5

Multiple Choice

Could a dwarf planet have moons? Why or why not?

• Yes, because moons are cool

• No, because dwarf planets are too small to have moons

• Yes, because they have gravity pulling them into a sphere

• No, because they are the same as moons

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is classified as a minor planet in our Solar System?

• Jupiter

• Ceres

• Venus

• Neptune

Open Ended

What do you think these rocky objects floating between Mars and Jupiter actually are?

Open Ended

Explain how the formation of asteroids is related to the formation of a planetary system.

Multiple Select

Select all statements that are true about asteroids.

• Asteroids orbit the Sun.

• Asteroids are too small to be called planets.

• Most asteroids are found between Mars and Jupiter.

• Asteroids are made of ice and gas.

Fill in the Blank

Asteroids are also called minor ___.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the location of the asteroid belt in our solar system?

• Between Mars and Jupiter

• Between Earth and Mars

• Beyond Neptune

• Between Venus and Earth

Fill in the Blank

The elliptical orbits of planets, minor planets, and comets around the Sun are a result of ___.

Fill in the Blank

A dwarf planet in the asteroid belt is called ___.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the composition of most asteroids?

• Mostly rock and metal, some ice

• Mostly gas and dust

• Mostly water and organic material

• Mostly hydrogen and helium

Multiple Choice

What evidence from close-up photos suggests that asteroids have irregular shapes?

• They appear perfectly round and smooth.

• They show rocky surfaces with craters and uneven shapes.

• They are covered in ice and snow.

• They have bright rings around them.

Multiple Select

Select all the correct statements about the formation of the Solar System and asteroids.

• The solar system formed from a spinning cloud of gas and dust called nebula.

• Jupiter's gravity helped planetesimals form a full planet.

• Asteroids are leftover rocky material that never joined to make a planet.

• All asteroids are dangerous to Earth.

Open Ended

Explain how Jupiter's gravity influenced the formation of asteroids in our Solar System.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the shape of most orbits in the solar system?

• Perfect circles

• Ellipses

• Squares

• Triangles

Fill in the Blank

Kepler's First Law states that planets move around the Sun in ___ orbits.

Open Ended

Explain the difference between aphelion and perihelion in an elliptical orbit.

Open Ended

What is the significance of the Sun's position in an elliptical orbit?

Multiple Choice

Select all the statements that are true about the orbits of asteroids.

• Asteroids have almost circular orbits.

• Asteroids have more elliptical orbits than planets.

• Asteroids are always close to the Sun.

• Asteroids can have orbits similar to comets.

Multiple Choice

Which objects in the solar system typically have highly elliptical orbits?

• Planets

• Asteroids

• Comets

• Moons

Multiple Choice

Which region of the solar system contains most of the asteroids?

• Asteroid Belt

• Kuiper Belt

• Comet Belt

• Oort Cloud

Open Ended

How did asteroids form according to the lesson?

Fill in the Blank

All objects orbit the Sun in ___ (circles are just special cases).

Multiple Select

Which of the following objects orbit the Sun in ellipses?

• Planets

• Asteroids

• Comets

• All of the above

Open Ended

One difference between a planet’s orbit and a comet’s orbit is...