Astronomy Chapter Nine
- 1.
Which of the following statements about comets and asteroids is true?
- A.
Only asteroids collide with Earth.
- B.
Comets are balls of ice and dust.
- C.
Most of the trillions of comets in our solar system have tails.
- D.
All asteroids lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
- E.
There are about 1 million known asteroids in the solar system.
Correct Answer
B. Comets are balls of ice and dust. -
- 2.
How do asteroids differ from comets?
- A.
Asteroids are made of rocky material. Comets are made of icy material.
- B.
Asteroids are made of icy material. Comets are made of rocky material.
- C.
Asteroids and comets are both made of rocky and icy material, but asteroids are larger in size than comets.
- D.
Asteroids and comets are both made of rocky and icy material, but asteroids are smaller in size than comets.
Correct Answer
A. Asteroids are made of rocky material. Comets are made of icy material. -
- 3.
A rocky leftover planetesimal orbiting the Sun is
- A.
A comet.
- B.
A meteor.
- C.
An asteroid.
- D.
A meteorite.
- E.
Possibly any of the above
Correct Answer
C. An asteroid. -
- 4.
Why do asteroids and comets differ in composition?
- A.
Asteroids formed inside the frost line, while comets formed outside.
- B.
Asteroids and comets formed at different times.
- C.
Comets formed from the jovian nebula, while asteroids did not.
- D.
Comets are much larger than asteroids.
- E.
Asteroids are much larger than comets.
Correct Answer
A. Asteroids formed inside the frost line, while comets formed outside. -
- 5.
Which is closest to the average distance between asteroids in the asteroid belt?
- A.
1 hundred km
- B.
1 thousand km
- C.
10 thousand km
- D.
1 million km
- E.
10 million km
Correct Answer
D. 1 million km -
- 6.
Why aren't small asteroids spherical in shape?
- A.
The strength of gravity on small asteroids is less than the strength of the rock.
- B.
Small asteroids have odd shapes because they were all chipped off larger objects.
- C.
Large asteroids were once molten and therefore became spherical, but small asteroids were never molten.
- D.
Large asteroids became spherical because many small collisions chipped off pieces until only a sphere was left; this did not occur with small asteroids.
Correct Answer
A. The strength of gravity on small asteroids is less than the strength of the rock. -
- 7.
What is a meteorite?
- A.
A streak of light caused by a star moving across the sky
- B.
A streak of light caused by a small particle from space burning up in Earth's atmosphere
- C.
A fragment of an asteroid from the solar system that has fallen to Earth's surface
- D.
A small moon that orbits one of the giant planets
- E.
A comet that burns up in Earth's atmosphere
Correct Answer
C. A fragment of an asteroid from the solar system that has fallen to Earth's surface -
- 8.
Processed meteorites with high metal content probably are
- A.
Leftover chunks of rock from the earliest period in the formation of the solar system.
- B.
Pieces of comets rather than of asteroids.
- C.
Chunks of a larger asteroid that was shattered by a collision.
- D.
Chunks of rock chipped off the planet Mercury.
- E.
Chunks of rock chipped off the planet Mars.
Correct Answer
C. Chunks of a larger asteroid that was shattered by a collision. -
- 9.
Why does the plasma tail of a comet always point away from the Sun?
- A.
The solar wind blows the ions directly away from the Sun.
- B.
Radiation pressure from the Sun's light pushes the ions away.
- C.
The conservation of the angular momentum of the tail keeps it always pointing away from the Sun.
- D.
Gases from the comet, heated by the Sun, push the tail away from the Sun.
- E.
It is allergic to sunlight.
Correct Answer
A. The solar wind blows the ions directly away from the Sun. -
- 10.
Comets with extremely elliptical orbits, like comets Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp,
- A.
Come from the asteroid belt.
- B.
Come from the Kuiper belt.
- C.
Come from the Oort cloud.
- D.
Are Trojan comets.
- E.
Are captured by Jupiter.
Correct Answer
C. Come from the Oort cloud. -
- 11.
According to the nebular theory, how did the Kuiper belt form?
- A.
It is material left over from the interstellar cloud that never contracted with the rest of the gases to form the solar nebula.
- B.
It is made of planetesimals that formed beyond Neptune's orbit and never accreted to form a planet.
- C.
It consists of objects that fragmented from the protosun during a catastrophic collision early in the formation of the solar system.
- D.
It is made of planetesimals between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter that never formed into a planet.
- E.
It is made of planetesimals formed in the outer solar system that were flung into distant orbits by encounters with the jovian planets.
Correct Answer
B. It is made of planetesimals that formed beyond Neptune's orbit and never accreted to form a planet. -
- 12.
According to the nebular theory, how did the Oort cloud form?
- A.
It is material left over from the interstellar cloud that never contracted with the rest of the gases to form the solar nebula.
- B.
It is made of planetesimals that formed beyond Neptune's orbit and never accreted to form a planet.
- C.
It consists of objects that fragmented from the protosun during a catastrophic collision early in the formation of the solar system.
- D.
It is made of planetesimals between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter that never formed into a planet.
- E.
It is made of planetesimals formed in the outer solar system that were flung into distant orbits by encounters with the jovian planets.
Correct Answer
E. It is made of planetesimals formed in the outer solar system that were flung into distant orbits by encounters with the jovian planets. -
- 13.
When was Pluto discovered?
- A.
About 25 years ago
- B.
About 75 years ago
- C.
About 200 years ago
- D.
About 2000 years ago
- E.
In ancient history
Correct Answer
B. About 75 years ago -
- 14.
Rather than being a planet, Pluto is really just a large member of
- A.
The asteroid belt.
- B.
The Kuiper belt.
- C.
The Oort cloud.
- D.
The moon system around Neptune.
- E.
An extrasolar planetary system.
Correct Answer
B. The Kuiper belt. -
- 15.
Which of the following is furthest from the Sun?
- A.
Pluto
- B.
Neptune
- C.
An asteroid in the asteroid belt
- D.
A comet in the Kuiper belt
- E.
A comet in the Oort cloud
Correct Answer
E. A comet in the Oort cloud -
- 16.
Why won't Pluto collide with Neptune?
- A.
Pluto's orbit is completely outside Neptune's orbit.
- B.
Pluto's orbit is completely inside Neptune's orbit.
- C.
Pluto's orbit never comes anywhere close to Neptune's orbit.
- D.
The two planets have an orbital resonance that prevents them from colliding.
- E.
It could!
Correct Answer
D. The two planets have an orbital resonance that prevents them from colliding. -
- 17.
What is Charon?
- A.
Pluto's largest moon
- B.
The largest known asteroid
- C.
The largest known comet
- D.
One of the Galilean moons of Jupiter
- E.
A moon of Neptune
Correct Answer
A. Pluto's largest moon -
- 18.
What is the name of the largest known Kuiper Belt Object?
- A.
Pluto
- B.
Charon
- C.
Sedna
- D.
Quaoar
- E.
Xena
Correct Answer
E. Xena -
- 19.
Why was the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact so important to astronomers?
- A.
It dredged up material that gave us our first direct look at Jupiter's interior composition.
- B.
It wiped out the dinosaurs.
- C.
It was the first direct proof that impacts really occur.
- D.
It confirmed our theory of solar system formation.
- E.
It was the first event in modern history that was brighter than the full moon in the sky.
Correct Answer
A. It dredged up material that gave us our first direct look at Jupiter's interior composition. -
- 20.
On average, how often do impactors about 10 km in size, large enough to produce mass extinction, hit Earth?
- A.
Once every century
- B.
Once every thousand years
- C.
Once every million years
- D.
Once every hundred million years
- E.
Once in Earth's history
Correct Answer
D. Once every hundred million years -
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Jan 21, 2013Quiz Edited by
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Dec 11, 2010Quiz Created by
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