Question 1

The Kirkwood gaps are regularly spaced gaps in the asteroid distribution.What causes the gaps to appear?

Accepted Answer

A)  The pressure of the solar wind is especially strong at these locations, evacuating asteroids out of them. 
B)  They are regions where gravitational pull from Mars is overcome by gravitational pull from Jupiter. 
C)  They are regions where an object and Jupiter would regularly line up during their orbits, causing the object to resonate with Jupiter's gravity until it leaves that orbit. 
D)  They are regions between Jupiter and Saturn where the combined effect of both planets' gravity prevents objects from orbiting there. 
E)  Asteroids on orbits within the gaps would be moving too fast to be in a stable orbit. 
A)  The pressure of the solar wind is especially strong at these locations, evacuating asteroids out of them. 
B)  They are regions where gravitational pull from Mars is overcome by gravitational pull from Jupiter. 
C)  They are regions where an object and Jupiter would regularly line up during their orbits, causing the object to resonate with Jupiter's gravity until it leaves that orbit. 
D)  They are regions between Jupiter and Saturn where the combined effect of both planets' gravity prevents objects from orbiting there. 
E)  Asteroids on orbits within the gaps would be moving too fast to be in a stable orbit. C

Question 2

Why are asteroids considered to be excellent sources for studying conditions in the early Solar System, whereas planets themselves are not?

Accepted Answer

Asteroids are planetesimals that never accreted onto planets during planet formation,so they have not been subject to any of the weathering or processing that planets have undergone.As such,they maintain the chemical and physical signatures of conditions in the early Solar System and are invaluable for study.

Question 3

If we know the semimajor axis and ________ of an object's orbit, then we can determine the object's closest and farthest points from the mass it is orbiting.

Accepted Answer

A)  the total mass 
B)  eccentricity 
C)  the central mass 
D)  average velocity 
E)  albedo 
A)  the total mass 
B)  eccentricity 
C)  the central mass 
D)  average velocity 
E)  albedo B

Question 4

How does a comet's appearance change as it moves from the outer Solar System to the inner Solar System?

Accepted Answer

When a comet is in the outer Solar Syste

Question 5

Most comets originate

Accepted Answer

A)  near Earth and Venus, in the early Solar System. 
B)  far from the planets, many thousands of astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. 
C)  from the region between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune. 
D)  between the Sun and Mercury. 
E)  between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. 
A)  near Earth and Venus, in the early Solar System. 
B)  far from the planets, many thousands of astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. 
C)  from the region between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune. 
D)  between the Sun and Mercury. 
E)  between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Question 6

Looking at the figure below, identify the two tails.

Accepted Answer

The top tail is pointing directly away f

Question 7

What group of Solar System objects does Pluto belong to?

Accepted Answer

A)  the Trojan asteroids 
B)  the dwarf planets 
C)  the giant objects 
D)  the terrestrial planets 
E)  the planetesimals 
A)  the Trojan asteroids 
B)  the dwarf planets 
C)  the giant objects 
D)  the terrestrial planets 
E)  the planetesimals

Question 8

In November 2005, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa brought back a sample from which type of object for the first time?

Accepted Answer

A)  comet 
B)  asteroid 
C)  moon 
D)  terrestrial planet 
E)  gas giant planet 
A)  comet 
B)  asteroid 
C)  moon 
D)  terrestrial planet 
E)  gas giant planet

Question 9

Identify the meteorites in the figure below, and briefly describe each.

Accepted Answer

Meteorite A is a chondrite,a stony objec

Question 10

Which of the following describes comets in the Oort Cloud?

Accepted Answer

A)  orbit in the same disk as the planets 
B)  highly processed by the Sun's light 
C)  high temperatures 
D)  composed primarily of molecular hydrogen 
E)  long periods 
A)  orbit in the same disk as the planets 
B)  highly processed by the Sun's light 
C)  high temperatures 
D)  composed primarily of molecular hydrogen 
E)  long periods

Question 11

The majority of asteroids are

Accepted Answer

A)  very large ($\gt$100 km). 
B)  large (30-100 km). 
C)  medium-sized (10-30 km). 
D)  small (1-10 km). 
E)  very small ($\lt$1 km). 
A)  very large ($\gt$100 km). 
B)  large (30-100 km). 
C)  medium-sized (10-30 km). 
D)  small (1-10 km). 
E)  very small ($\lt$1 km).

Question 12

The meteoroids in the Leonids meteor shower, which occurs every November, come from

Accepted Answer

A)  dust in the star-forming Leo nebula. 
B)  dust heated off Comet Tempel-Tuttle. 
C)  debris from the collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter. 
D)  zodiacal dust. 
E)  dust blown off of Earth's surface. 
A)  dust in the star-forming Leo nebula. 
B)  dust heated off Comet Tempel-Tuttle. 
C)  debris from the collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter. 
D)  zodiacal dust. 
E)  dust blown off of Earth's surface.

Question 13

Approximately how often does a spectacularly active, visible comet appear in Earth's sky?

Accepted Answer

A)  once a year 
B)  once every 5 years 
C)  once every 10 years 
D)  once every 50 years 
E)  once every 1,000 years 
A)  once a year 
B)  once every 5 years 
C)  once every 10 years 
D)  once every 50 years 
E)  once every 1,000 years

Question 14

Comets have highly eccentric orbits, with eccentricities of 0.95 to 0.99 being common.Suppose a certain comet has an eccentricity of 0.99.If the semimajor axis of its orbit is 2,500 AU, what will be its distance at perihelion and at aphelion? Is this most likely a Kuiper Belt object or an Oort Cloud comet? (Note: For an ellipse, a(1+ e) is the distance from one focus to the farther edge of the long axis and a(1 -e) is the distance from the same focus to the closer edge of the long axis.)

Accepted Answer

Aphelion is the point of maximum distanc

Question 15

The most straightforward way to determine the mass of an asteroid is if it has

Accepted Answer

A)  a rocky composition. 
B)  a moon. 
C)  an orbit that lies between Earth and Mars. 
D)  carbonaceous chondrites. 
E)  a magnetic field. 
A)  a rocky composition. 
B)  a moon. 
C)  an orbit that lies between Earth and Mars. 
D)  carbonaceous chondrites. 
E)  a magnetic field.

Question 16

Which of the following likely helps replenish the zodiacal dust in the vicinity of Earth the most?

Accepted Answer

A)  comets 
B)  meteor impacts on Earth 
C)  Meteor impacts on the Moon 
D)  volcanoes on Earth 
E)  tornadoes on Earth 
A)  comets 
B)  meteor impacts on Earth 
C)  Meteor impacts on the Moon 
D)  volcanoes on Earth 
E)  tornadoes on Earth

Question 17

The most common types of meteorites are

Accepted Answer

A)  stony meteorites. 
B)  iron meteorites. 
C)  achondrite meteorites. 
D)  stony-iron meteorites. 
E)  carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. 
A)  stony meteorites. 
B)  iron meteorites. 
C)  achondrite meteorites. 
D)  stony-iron meteorites. 
E)  carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.

Question 18

How is it possible for the tail of a comet to actually move ahead of the comet itself?

Accepted Answer

The tail is blown outward by the solar w

Question 19

Name three properties of the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris that are similar.

Accepted Answer

They have relatively similar masses and

Question 20

Suppose we discover a comet whose orbit was very highly eccentric, retrograde, had a very large tilt with respect to the ecliptic plane, and had a period of 30,000 years.Where is the most likely place of origin for this comet?

Accepted Answer

A)  the Kuiper Belt 
B)  the Oort Cloud 
C)  the asteroid belt 
D)  the Jovian family 
E)  outside the Solar System 
A)  the Kuiper Belt 
B)  the Oort Cloud 
C)  the asteroid belt 
D)  the Jovian family 
E)  outside the Solar System

Exam 12: Dwarf Planets and Small Solar System Bodies

The Kirkwood gaps are regularly spaced gaps in the asteroid distribution.What causes the gaps to appear?

Why are asteroids considered to be excellent sources for studying conditions in the early Solar System, whereas planets themselves are not?

If we know the semimajor axis and ________ of an object's orbit, then we can determine the object's closest and farthest points from the mass it is orbiting.

How does a comet's appearance change as it moves from the outer Solar System to the inner Solar System?

Most comets originate

Looking at the figure below, identify the two tails.

What group of Solar System objects does Pluto belong to?

In November 2005, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa brought back a sample from which type of object for the first time?

Identify the meteorites in the figure below, and briefly describe each.

Which of the following describes comets in the Oort Cloud?

The majority of asteroids are

The meteoroids in the Leonids meteor shower, which occurs every November, come from

Approximately how often does a spectacularly active, visible comet appear in Earth's sky?

The most straightforward way to determine the mass of an asteroid is if it has

Which of the following likely helps replenish the zodiacal dust in the vicinity of Earth the most?

The most common types of meteorites are

How is it possible for the tail of a comet to actually move ahead of the comet itself?

Name three properties of the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris that are similar.

Suppose we discover a comet whose orbit was very highly eccentric, retrograde, had a very large tilt with respect to the ecliptic plane, and had a period of 30,000 years.Where is the most likely place of origin for this comet?

Thinking Like an Astronomer

Patterns in the Skymotions of Earth and the Moon

Motion of Astronomical Bodies

Gravity and Orbits

Light

The Tools of the Astronomer

The Formation of Planetary Systems

The Terrestrial Planets and Earths Moon

Atmospheres of the Terrestrial Planets

Worlds of Gas and Liquidthe Giant Planets

Planetary Moons and Rings

Taking the Measure of Stars

Our Starthe Sun

The Interstellar Medium and Star Formation

Evolution of Low-Mass Stars

Evolution of High-Mass Stars

Relativity and Black Holes

Galaxies

The Milky Waya Normal Spiral Galaxy

The Expanding Universe

Cosmology

Large-Scale Structure in the Universe

Life

Filters