ASTRO 101 EXAM 4 QUESTIONS WITH
DETAILED VERIFIED ANSWERS
What mechanism controls the direction in which a comet's ion tail is aligned in space?
flow of solar wind past the comet's head
Widmanstätten patterns are a test for which kind of meteorite?
irons
Which planet or dwarf planet in our solar system has the moon with the largest diameter
compared with the diameter of the planet or dwarf planet itself?
Select one:
Pluto
A comet's tail always points from the comet head
away from sun
What is the likely connection between the metal iridium and the demise of Earth's dinosaur
population?
ridium is found in meteorites but is rare on Earth. The existence of a worldwide layer of it
suggests a large meteor impact during the dinosaur age. The impact probably raised enough dust
to block out sunlight and kill the dinosaurs.
When compared with the diameter of Earth's Moon, the diameters of the biggest asteroids
are
between 1/10 and 1/3 as large
what statements about the asteroid belt is true?
. The masses of all the known asteroid belt asteroids, added together, would produce a body too
small to be classified as a planet
In spite of the vast average separations between asteroids, they can sometimes collide.
Almost all asteroids have orbits that lie near the plane of the ecliptic.
DETAILED VERIFIED ANSWERS
What mechanism controls the direction in which a comet's ion tail is aligned in space?
flow of solar wind past the comet's head
Widmanstätten patterns are a test for which kind of meteorite?
irons
Which planet or dwarf planet in our solar system has the moon with the largest diameter
compared with the diameter of the planet or dwarf planet itself?
Select one:
Pluto
A comet's tail always points from the comet head
away from sun
What is the likely connection between the metal iridium and the demise of Earth's dinosaur
population?
ridium is found in meteorites but is rare on Earth. The existence of a worldwide layer of it
suggests a large meteor impact during the dinosaur age. The impact probably raised enough dust
to block out sunlight and kill the dinosaurs.
When compared with the diameter of Earth's Moon, the diameters of the biggest asteroids
are
between 1/10 and 1/3 as large
what statements about the asteroid belt is true?
. The masses of all the known asteroid belt asteroids, added together, would produce a body too
small to be classified as a planet
In spite of the vast average separations between asteroids, they can sometimes collide.
Almost all asteroids have orbits that lie near the plane of the ecliptic.
