Asteroid Facts Worksheet

Answer the following multiple-choice questions based on the
material found at the SpaceClass.org web pages about asteroids:
http://www.spaceclass.org/apophis.

1. Another name for comets is
   1. Icy asteroids
   2. Dirty snowballs
   3. Both a and b.
2. Who discovered the first asteroid?
   1. Giuseppe Piazzi
   2. Leonardo de Vinci
   3. Fabio Caruso
3. The name of the first asteroid discovered was
   1. Celeste
   2. Ceres
   3. Venus
4. The largest asteroid has a diameter of about
   1. 430 miles
   2. 1,000 miles
   3. 50 miles
5. Astronomers believe that asteroids
   1. Began with dust, gases and ice.
   2. Are cosmic leftovers from the formation of our solar system.
   3. Both a and b.
6. Asteroids are also known as
   1. Stars
   2. Failed planets
   3. Sunbursts
7. Where are most asteroids found?
   1. In the farthest reaches of the solar system.
   2. Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
   3. Just beyond the moon.
8. Name the region where most asteroids are found.
   1. Asteroid Belt
   2. Orions Belt
   3. Galactic Highway
9. Name two asteroids located outside the region where most asteroids are found.
   1. Ares and Garwin
   2. Pluto and Dianthus
   3. Phobos and Deimos
10. Who discovered these asteroids in 1877?
    1. Asaph Hall
    2. Winston Brown
    3. Carlos Mills

11. Caught by the gravity of Mars, these asteroids
    1. Drifted too close to Earth.
    2. Began orbiting the planet and became Martian moons.
    3. Burned up in the Martian atmosphere.
12. The asteroid Phobos
    1. Is being pulled by gravity toward Mars.
    2. Has an unstable orbit.
    3. Both a and b.
13. Asteroids outside the Asteroid Belt
    1. Are larger than the moon.
    2. Range in size from a pebble to several miles across.
    3. Are about as big as Texas.
14. Asteroids that cross Earth’s orbit outside the atmosphere are called
    1. Meteoroids
    2. Stars
    3. Cryptonites
15. Asteroids entering Earth’s atmosphere are called
    1. Satellites
    2. Moons
    3. Meteors
16. Meteor showers are named after
    1. The constellations from which they appear to fall.
    2. Gemini, the crab.
    3. The moon.
17. C-type asteroids contain
    1. Mostly nickel and iron.
    2. Mostly clay.
    3. Carbon and ice.
18. A fairly common type of asteroid, the S-type, contains
    1. Sheet metal
    2. Stone
    3. Ice

19. M-type asteroids
    1. Contain nickel and iron.
    2. Are those whose composition is unknown.
    3. Both a and b.
20. Which type comes closest to the material that makes up the sun?
    1. C-type asteroids
    2. S-type asteroids
    3. M-type asteroids
21. Holes made by meteors are called
    1. Ditches
    2. Craters
    3. Lakes
22. Why do craters on the moon retain their shape?
    1. There is no atmosphere to speak of.
    2. There is no weather.
    3. Both a and b.
23. Craters on Earth
    1. Tell us about the age of our planet.
    2. Are eroded by weather and geological activity.
    3. Both a and b.
24. Why did the meteoroid over Siberia disintegrate before impact?
    1. It was a carbonaceous C-type asteroid.
    2. It was an M-type asteroid.
    3. It was made of clay.
25. What makes an asteroid different from a comet? (Your answer should include details about origin, location in the solar system, and composition).
26. Why are comets restricted to the outer reachers of the solar system, only occasionally falling toward the Sun?
27. What kind of solar system object produces the dust that we see as meteor showers?
28. What is going to happen someday to the asteroid-moon of Mars called Phobos?
29. The icy moons Enceladus of Saturn and Europa of Jupiter have very few craters. What does that tell you about the surfaces of these objects?