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WorksheetsComets
Total questions: 22
Worksheet time: 11mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
On the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the Norman invasion in the year 1066, which comet is shown?
a)
Comet McNaught
b)
Comet Halley
c)
Comet Hale-Bopp
d)
Comet 67P/C-G
2.
Which king, in 1066, considered the sighting of a comet as a good omen?
a)
King Henry VIII
b)
King Harold II
c)
King William I
d)
King Richard I
3.
Which comet was seen by Phil Plait, in 2007, very near the Sun in broad daylight?
a)
Comet McNaught
b)
Comet Halley
c)
Comet Hale-Bopp
d)
Comet 67P/C-G
4.
Unlike asteroids, which are mostly rock, comets are a more balanced mixture of _____
a)
metal and ice
b)
rock and metal
c)
ice and rock
d)
rock and minerals
5.
Comets, being composed of frozen gases, rocks, gravel, and dust, are often called _____
a)
“dirty snowballs”
b)
“yellow snowballs,”
c)
“dusty asteroids”
d)
“dirty asteroids”
6.
As comets progress through their elliptical orbits, they are heated mostly by _____
a)
the Sun
b)
friction
c)
internal molten metals
d)
convection of gases
7.
The process of ice turning directly into a gas is called _____
a)
fusion
b)
convection
c)
sublimation
d)
evaporation
8.
In the past, because comets look fuzzy, they’ve been called _____
a)
“hairy stars”
b)
“hairy eyeballs”
c)
“shooting stars”
d)
“fuzzy navels”
9.
The solid part of a comet is called the _____
a)
core
b)
kernal
c)
nucleus
d)
coma
10.
What is the gaseous cloud around a comet called?
a)
aura
b)
coma
c)
wisp
d)
haze
11.
When gas molecules emitted by a comet lose electrons, they are said to be _____
a)
dissociated
b)
ionized
c)
fissioned
d)
magnetized
12.
The “ion tail”, produced by the solar wind acting on ionized gas, points _____
a)
towards the sun
b)
away from the Sun
c)
behind the comet in its orbit
d)
ahead of the comet in its orbit
13.
Which comet appeared incredibly bright and gorgeous in 1997?
a)
Comet McNaught
b)
Comet Halley
c)
Comet Hale-Bopp
d)
Comet 67P/C-G
14.
The dust stream from a comet points _____
a)
towards the sun
b)
away from the Sun
c)
behind the comet in its orbit
d)
ahead of the comet in its orbit
15.
Short-period comets are defined as comets with an orbital period less than _____
a)
2 years
b)
20 years
c)
200 years
d)
2,000 years
16.
Comets that take a path directly into the sun are called _____
a)
sun catchers
b)
self-destructors
c)
kamikaze comets
d)
sundivers
17.
What was the first spacecraft to successfully get pictures of the nucleus of a comet?
a)
NASA's Voyager 1 probe
b)
the American probe Viking 1
c)
the Soviet mission Vega 1
d)
the American mission Apollo 11
18.
In the detailed photos of Comet Halley, what percentage of light was reflected from the nucleus?
a)
4%
b)
16%
c)
40%
d)
60%
19.
Which word best describes the surface of comets?
a)
inhomogeneous
b)
unharmonious
c)
homogeneous
d)
harmonious
20.
Which European mission studied a young comet that looked like a "cosmic rubber ducky"?
a)
XMM-Newton
b)
Rosetta
c)
Huygens
d)
Gaia
21.
What happened to Philae, the lander sent down by Rosetta?
a)
it bounced off the surface
b)
it skidded along the surface
c)
it sank into the surface
d)
it gently landed on the surface
22.
In 2004, what complex molecules were detected in the coma of comet Wild 2?
a)
carbohydrates
b)
fatty acids
c)
proteins
d)
amino acids
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