Comets, Asteroids & Meteors

Which of the following best describes a comet?

• It is made of ice, rock, and dust.

• It is located between Mars and Jupiter

• It has a short elliptical orbit

• They are leftover fragments from the time when planets formed in the solar system.

True or False: A comet's tail points AWAY from the Sun?

• True
• False

Which of the following moves through Earth's atmosphere at very fast speeds and appears as a "shooting star"?

• Meteoroid

• Meteorite

• Meteor

• Comet

Which of the following only occurs when a space rock survives its passage through the Earth's atmosphere and strikes the Earth's surface?

• Meteoroid

• Meteorite

• Meteor

• Comet

Which of the following are leftover rock fragments from the formation of the solar system?

• Comets

• Asteroids

• Meteors

• Shooting stars

Which of the following are most often found in the belt between Mars and Jupiter?

• Comets

• Asteroids

• Meteors

• Stars

Which of the following are composed mainly of rock and metal?

• comets and stars

• stars and meteors

• asteroid and meteors

• comets and asteroid

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-1

Which of the following objects is largest?

• Asteroid

• Meteoroid

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

What do comets, asteroids and meteors all have in common?

• They all are made of ice
• They all hit Earth's surface
• They all orbit the sun
• They have nothing in common

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Which of the following can be used to distinguish between a meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite?

• color

• size

• location

• texture