Unit D: Small Solar System Bodies

The correct name for a “shooting star” is a:

• Meteor

• Meteorite

• Meteoroid

• Comet

The name of the brightest asteroid seen from Earth is:

• Sedna

• Triton

• Vesta

• Toutatis

Most main belt asteroids are found:

• Near the orbit of Venus

• Between Earth and Mars

• Between Mars and Jupiter

• At a greater distance than Pluto

What is true about the tail of a comet?

• It always points away from the Sun

• It is always shorter than the nucleus

• It always points towards the Sun

• It always points in the direction the comet is moving

Which comet can be seen from Earth every 76 years or so?

• Comet Wild

• Comet Shoemaker

• Comet Linear

• Comet Halley

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Why do comets develop tails?

• The comet captures material from the Sun

• The Sun vaporizes material from the comet’s nucleus

• The Sun’s gravity breaks up a comet’s nucleus

• The high speed of a comet as it nears the Sun scatters some comet material

What will most likely happen when a comet's tail collides with the Earth?

• There will be no noticeable effect

• Some of the comet’s ice will produce an ice storm on Earth

• A large crater will form where the comet’s tail strikes the Earth

• Large cities may be wiped out if they are near the impact point

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

Meteor showers are largely due to:

• Asteroids that come close to Earth’s orbit

• Small particles that orbit the Earth

• Dust grains left behind in the orbits of comets

• Global warming caused by greenhouse gases

Asteroids are made of mostly:

• Frozen gases

• Rock and metal

• Only rocky material

• Only metals

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-1

Most comets orbit the Sun in a region of the outer solar system called the Oort Cloud.

• True

• False