Deck 19: Meteorites, Asteroids, and Comets

Question 1

The Widmanstätten patterns found in some meteorites show that the material

A) cooled very slowly.
B) cooled very rapidly.
C) was never heated to the point of being molten.
D) was molten just before it entered Earth's atmosphere.
E) is composed primarily of organic compounds.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The ____________ is a disk-shaped cloud of icy bodies believed to extend from about 40 AU (the orbit of Pluto) out to 100 AU. It is believed that most short-period comets originate from this region.

A) Oort cloud
B) Widmanstätten cloud
C) Apollo-Amor
D) Kirkwood region
E) Kuiper belt

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Comets falling into the inner solar system from the ____________ are called long-period comets.

A) Oort cloud
B) asteroid belt
C) Roche limit
D) Kuiper belt
E) Widmanstätten region

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Carbonaceous chondrites are meteorites that have

A) never been melted since formation from solid particles in the solar nebula.
B) totally melted after formation.
C) been made from hydrogen and helium.
D) never entered Earth's atmosphere.
E) entered Earth's atmosphere but will be destroyed before reaching the ground.

Question 5

The diagram below shows the relative size of Earth's Moon and the asteroid 10 Hygiea. Based on this diagram, what is the diameter of 10 Hygiea?

A) 460 km
B) 46 km
C) 4600 m
D) 46 m
E) 4600 km

Question 6

A(n) ____________ is a stony meteorite that contains no chondrules and no volatiles. They appear to have been melted after they formed and resemble solidified lavas.

A) carbonaceous chondrite
B) achondrite
C) breccia
D) Widmanstätten
E) Kuiper belt object

Question 7

After formation, an asteroid could produce an iron core and a rocky silicate mantle if it melted then

A) differentiated.
B) outgassed.
C) condensed.
D) accreted.
E) sublimed.

Question 8

____________ asteroids are the most common and appear to be the source of the most common type of meteorite, the chondrites. They are more common in the inner belt and may be the source of stone meteorites.

A) S-type
B) M-type
C) C-type

Question 9

A bit of matter that enters Earth's atmosphere and survives to reach the ground is called

A) a meteor.
B) a meteoroid.
C) a meteorite.
D) a minor planet.
E) an asteroid.

Question 10

A meteor shower is produced when

A) a large number of sporadic meteors are observed.
B) Earth passes through the asteroid belt.
C) massive particles are carried outward from the Sun by the solar wind and enter Earth's atmosphere.
D) Earth passes through the orbital path of a comet.
E) meteors cause condensation in the upper atmosphere that leads to early morning rains.

Question 11

The density of Comet Halley was found to be about 0.2 g/cm³. This implies that Comet Halley

A) is composed of about 50% rock and 50% frozen water and methane.
B) is loosely packed ices with a small amount of rocky material.
C) formed in the inner solar system and was ejected by Jupiter to the Kuiper belt.
D) is really an S-type asteroid.
E) was once a moon of Neptune and was ripped away by a large impact.

Question 12

____________ asteroids are more common in the outer asteroid belt where it is cooler. They are darker and may be carbonaceous.

A) S-type
B) M-type
C) C-type

Question 13

One currently accepted theory suggests that the bodies in the Oort cloud formed

A) near the present orbits of the terrestrial planets and were then ejected by them.
B) near the present orbits of the Jovian planets and were then ejected by them.
C) right there in the Oort cloud very far from the Sun.

Question 14

Stony, chondrite, achondrite, and stony-iron meteorite types are classified according to their

A) orbit.
B) distance from the Sun.
C) impact history.
D) mineral content.
E) coma.

Question 15

The gas tail of a comet always

A) trails behind the head along the orbital path.
B) extends ahead of the head along the orbital path.
C) points toward the Sun.
D) points away from the Sun.
E) points perpendicular to the orbital path.

Question 16

Most short-period comets do not have randomly oriented orbits because

A) they are affected by the Sun's gravity.
B) they are affected by the solar wind.
C) they formed in the Kuiper Belt, a belt-shaped region in the plane of the solar system.
D) their orbits are altered by the drag of their tails in the solar wind.
E) they all were originally objects ejected from the asteroid belt.

Question 17

What evidence exists that some of the asteroids were geologically active in the distant past?

A) A few of the larger asteroids show similar reflectance spectra (colors) similar to achondrite stony lava-like meteorites.
B) A few of the larger asteroids show similar reflectance spectra (colors) similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.
C) A few of the larger asteroids show similar reflectance spectra (colors) similar to Jovian planets.

Question 18

Carbonaceous chondrites
I) contain mostly iron and nickel.
II) contain volatiles.
III) contain chondrules.
IV) are similar in composition to the S-type asteroids.

A) II & III
B) I, II & III
C) II, III & IV
D) I, III, & IV
E) I, II, III, & IV

Question 19

Most of the asteroids orbit the Sun in a belt between the orbits of

A) Venus and Earth.
B) Earth and Mars.
C) Jupiter and Saturn.
D) Mercury and Venus.
E) Mars and Jupiter.

Question 20

____ asteroids appear to have nickel-iron compositions and may be the cores of broken asteroids.

A) S-type
B) M-type
C) C-type

Question 21

If a large 10-km asteroid or comet struck the Earth in the ocean floor,
I) large amounts of molten rock would rain down on Earth and cause massive forest fires.
II) giant tidal waves would result
III) after effects would cause the deaths of most animal life on the planet.
IV) thick clouds of dust would form and block out the Sun for an extended period.

A) I & IV
B) II & III
C) I, II, & III
D) I, II, III & IV
E) II, III, & IV

Question 22

____ are round bits of glass found in some stony meteorites.

A) Chondrites
B) Anthrasites
C) Achondrites
D) Widmanstätten patterns
E) Chondrules

Question 23

The gas tail of a comet

A) is smooth and featureless with a spectrum identical to that of the Sun.
B) is present even when the comet is located in the region of the Kuiper belt.
C) is unaffected by the magnetic field of the Sun.
D) always points toward the Sun.
E) is streaked and shows emission lines of ionized atoms.

Question 24

In this image, chondrules are present. What kind of meteorite is this?

A) stony
B) stony-iron
C) iron
D) chondrite

Question 25

The iron meteorites

A) never fall on the Earth.
B) are only found in the Antarctic.
C) are composed of carbonaceous chondrites.
D) are responsible for most of the meteor craters on the surface of the moon.
E) appear to have formed in the interiors of molten planetesimals.

Question 26

A typical asteroid has an orbital period around the Sun of 5.2 years. How far from the Sun is this asteroid?

A) 5.2 AU
B) 10.4 AU
C) 27.0 AU
D) 3.0 AU
E) 2.3 AU

Question 27

Compared to the inner asteroid belt, the outer asteroid belt is ____________ and ____________, as shown in the above graph.

A) dark, gray
B) red, dark
C) bright, red
D) gray, bright

Question 28

The inner asteroid belt is ____________ and ____________ compared to the outer asteroid belt, as shown in the above graph.

A) dark, red
B) gray, dark
C) red, bright
D) bright, gray

Question 29

Which of the following is evidence for the connection between comets and meteor showers?

A) Meteor and comets have the same appearance in the sky.
B) Meteor showers always occur when a comet is visible.
C) Meteor showers always occur 6 months after a comet passes Earth.
D) Meteor showers are an annual event. Many of these are known to be when the Earth crosses a comet's orbit.

Question 30

The above image shows a named ____________ that orbits a(n) ____________.

A) asteroid, planet
B) moon, planet
C) moon, asteroid
D) planet, star

Question 31

When Earth passes through the orbit of a comet as shown in the picture above, what is commonly seen on Earth?

A) a meteor
B) a meteorite
C) a meteoroid
D) a meteor shower

Question 32

What physical processes have led to the creation of stone and iron meteorites from carbonaceous chondrite asteroids?

A) collision only
B) differentiation only
C) fragmentation only
D) melting only
E) melting, differentiation, collision, fragmentation

Question 33

The diagram below is a plot of an asteroid's reflected brightness versus its ultraviolet minus visual color (U-V color; redder to the right and gray to the left). In this diagram, which of the asteroids is most likely an S-type asteroid?

A) Object 1
B) Object 2
C) Object 3
D) Object 4
E) Object 5

Question 34

How is the coma of a comet produced?

A) Rocky material breaks off from the comet to form the coma.
B) The coma is a cloud of particles that the comet has swept up in its orbital path.
C) Ices vaporize to become gas that forms the coma around the comet.
D) Particles in the solar wind get caught in the comet's magnetic field to form the coma.

Question 35

Which tail in the above photo is the gas tail?

A) the straight lined white tail
B) the curved white tail
C) both the straight and curved tails
D) Neither because the photo does not show a gas tail.

Question 36

The scientists in the picture above are placing what object in an airtight bag?

A) meteor
B) meteoroid
C) meteorite
D) asteroid

Question 37

The impact of a large asteroid comet with Earth has been proposed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. The impact site of this comet is in or near

A) Iowa.
B) Hudson Bay.
C) Crater Lake, Oregon.
D) Canberra, Australia.
E) Chicxulub, Mexico.

Question 38

Where is the Sun located in the above photo?

A) above the top of the picture
B) below the horizon
C) to the left of the picture
D) to the right of the picture

Question 39

As shown in the above graph, an M-type asteroid is ____________ and ____________ compared to a C-type or an S-type.

A) dark, gray
B) red, dark
C) bright, red
D) gray, bright

Question 40

In the above picture, a _______ meteorite that has been cut and polished shows both rock and iron.

A) stony
B) stony-iron
C) iron
D) chondrite

Question 41

The ____________ of a comet can be up to a million kilometers in diameter.

Question 42

Meteorites seem to be primarily composed of material very similar to the material in asteroids.

Question 43

___-type asteroids are most common.

Question 44

Carbonaceous chondrites have been heated to high temperature at least once since they formed.

Question 45

Achondrites are rich in volatiles.

Question 46

The asteroid belt lies between planets ____________ and ____________

Question 47

Asteroids that cross Earth's orbit and could hit Earth are known as _____________.

Question 48

The meteors in meteor showers are believed to be the debris left behind in comet orbits.

Question 49

Iron meteorites are the most common to be found because of ________________.

Question 50

The straight line tail is straight because of the ____________.

A) solar wind
B) ionization
C) radiation pressure
D) dust

Question 51

The ____________-type asteroids are generally found in the outer portion of the asteroid belt and are very dark.

Question 52

Meteors seen during a meteor shower appear to come from a point in the sky called the ____________________.

Question 53

A(n) ____________ is produced when Earth passes through the debris left by a comet when it passed through the inner solar system.

Question 54

Long-period comets are believed to originate in the ____________.

Question 55

Which type of object caused the crater?

A) meteor
B) meteoroid
C) meteorite
D) asteroid

Question 56

Choose the correct object to make the statement correct:
A/An ____ (meteor, meteoroid, meteor shower, meteorite, asteroid)______ impact could result in a climate change for the world.

Question 57

A(n) ____________ occurs when a bit of material enters Earth's atmosphere and becomes incandescent due to friction with the atmosphere.

Question 58

____________ asteroids are located in the orbit of Jupiter.

Question 59

The shape of a comet's ____________ tail is formed by radiation pressure.

Question 60

Widmanstätten patterns are found in ____________ meteorites.

Question 61

Compared to the moon, which has an average albedo of 0.12, most M- and S-type asteroids would appear brighter to us as indicated in the above graph.

Question 62

Iron meteorites are rare to observe as meteoroids near Earth.

Question 63

Meteorites seem to come from both the asteroid belt and the comets.

Question 64

The existence of the Oort cloud cannot be confirmed observationally from Earth because the objects are too small and distant.

Question 65

The appearance of the cut and polished meteorite shown above is due to a Widmanstätten  pattern.

Question 66

Compare to C-types, S-types are redder and brighter as indicated in the above graph.

Question 67

What observational evidence do we have that some meteors are caused by debris from comets?

Question 68

No asteroids have orbits that cross the Earth's orbit.

Question 69

Iridium is more common in meteorites than in the crust of the Earth.

Question 70

The tail on the right side of the photo is the dust tail.

Question 71

Jupiter was probably influential in preventing the formation of a planet at the present location of the asteroid belt.

Question 72

The majority of meteorite finds are iron meteorites.

Question 73

The meteors in meteor showers are believed to be the debris left behind in comet orbits.

Question 74

A dirty snowball description for a comet nucleus suggests that the composition is ices.

Question 75

The meteorite shown is black most likely because of friction with the air, which heats the meteoroid as it passes through Earth's atmosphere.

Question 76

If a comet were located at the blue arrow along the comet's orbit in the picture above then the tails of the comet would point along the path of the orbit but ahead of the coma.

Question 77

The Kuiper Belt is predicted to be the place where most of the short-period comets formed.

Question 78

The upper right corner of the above albedo-color index graph is where you would find redder and dark asteroids.

Question 79

Some asteroids show evidence of surface activity such as lava flows.

Question 80

Meteors strike Earth's atmosphere every day.