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Asteroids

Total questions: 16

Worksheet time: 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Who was the astronomer who discovered the first asteroid in 1801?

a)

Galileo Galilei

b)

Nicolaus Copernicus

c)

Giuseppi Piazzi

d)

Ptolemy

2.

What does asteroid literally mean?

a)

Tiny planet

b)

Starlight

c)

Small comet

d)

Robot

3.

Asteroids are small rocky or metallic bodies that orbit the sun in the whole solar system.

a)

False, asteroids do not orbit the sun.

b)

False, there is a separate designation for bodies past Jupiter.

c)

True, asteroids are found throughout the solar system.

d)

True, asteroids are man made.

4.

What are the basic material that make up asteroids?

a)

55% Carbon, 40% Iron, 5% Silicon

b)

38% Sulfur, 29% Nitrogen, 13% Carbon, 20% Miscellaneous

c)

90% Iron, 8% Silver, 2% Copper

d)

75% Carbon, 17% Silicon, 8% Miscellaneous

5.

Jupiter's size pulls some asteroids away from solar orbit which creates a gap. What is that gap called?

a)

Galilaian space

b)

Jeffersonian cut

c)

Spockoid paradigm

d)

Kirkwood gap

6.

What would it be like to flying through an asteroid belt?

a)

Lots of dodging and avoiding collision like in Star Wars.

b)

Very few asteroids, possibly wouldn't see one at all.

c)

There would be a few asteroids to avoid, but not as many as they show in the movies, probably you would only see about ten at a time.

d)

Thousands of tiny particles, closer to the size of pebbles and boulders, but no large, house sized rocks.

7.

If you took all the asteroids in the main belt and lumped them together, how large would it be?

a)

Smaller than our moon

b)

Slightly larger than Earth

c)

Close to the size of Jupiter

d)

About the size of a blue whale

8.

Ceres is the largest asteroid, and it is spherical.

a)

True, it retains is shape because of it's massive size.

b)

False, it is only a midsize asteroid.

c)

False, it is lumpy like deimos

d)

False, it is actually a moon.

9.

What space craft entered orbit around Ceres on March 6, 2015?

a)

Voyager

b)

Dawn

c)

Stardust

d)

Venera 7

10.

Which of these is NOT a main belt asteroid

a)

Vesta

b)

Matilda

c)

Alexa

d)

Ida

11.

Do some asteroids have moons orbiting them?

a)

Yes, Cleopatra actually has two moons orbiting it.

b)

Yes, asteroids are as large as small planets so naturally they have moons.

c)

No, asteroids do not provide enough gravitational pull to retain a moon.

d)

We are not sure yet.

12.

Are all asteroids solid rocky bodies?

a)

Yes, they are very compact

b)

No, many are just gaseous

c)

No, some are loose bits held together by gravity.

d)

No, some are living organisms.

13.

Do all asteroids live in the main belt?

a)

No, there are some that have orbits that cross Mars and Earth

b)

Yes, once an asteroid leaves the main belt it becomes a comet.

c)

Yes, asteroids are pulled into the main belt through gravity and cannot escape it.

d)

No, asteroids sometimes leave and come back to the main belt after visiting neighboring planets.

14.

What are asteroids that are entirely inside Earth's orbit?

a)

Apollo asteroids

b)

Aten asteroids

c)

Athena asteroids

d)

Chewbacca asteroids

15.

The spot that is in balance between two large gravitational pulls is called

a)

Tipping spot

b)

Ptolemy area

c)

Cruithne location

d)

Lagrangian points

16.

Where is the main asteroid belt located?

a)

Between Earth and Mars

b)

Between Venus and Mars

c)

Between Mars and Jupiter

d)

Between Mercury and Venus