arrow_backBack to Study Resources

Quiz Chapter 13: Meteoroid, Asteroid, Comet

10 questions ยท Form 2 Science Bab 13: Meteoroid, Asteroid, Comet

Question 1 of 10Score: 0

Which component of a comet is its solid, frozen center?

Full Question List & Answer Key

Prefer reading to quizzing? All 10 questions are listed below with the answer and explanation under each one.

1. Which component of a comet is its solid, frozen center?

  1. Coma
  2. Dust tail
  3. Ion tail
  4. Nucleus
Show answer

Answer: D

The core or central solid part of a comet, consisting of ice, rock, and frozen gases, is called the nucleus.

2. What is a meteoroid called after it enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up, creating a streak of light?

  1. Meteorite
  2. Meteor
  3. Asteroid
  4. Comet
Show answer

Answer: B

When a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere and burns due to air friction, the visible streak of light produced is called a meteor.

3. Which celestial body is often described as a 'dirty snowball' due to its composition?

  1. Asteroid
  2. Meteoroid
  3. Comet
  4. Dwarf planet Ceres
Show answer

Answer: C

Comets are colloquially termed 'dirty snowballs' because they consist of frozen ice mixed with cosmic dust and dirt.

4. What structural shape characterizes the orbit of comets around the Sun?

  1. Perfect circular orbit
  2. Highly elongated elliptical orbit
  3. Straight line path
  4. Square spiral path
Show answer

Answer: B

Comets travel along highly elliptical (oval-shaped) orbits that bring them close to the Sun and then carry them far into the outer Solar System.

5. What causes a comet to form a bright cloud (coma) and tail as it gets closer to the Sun?

  1. Solar heat sublimates frozen ice into gas, releasing trapped dust
  2. The comet catches fire due to oxygen in space
  3. The comet collides with asteroids near the Sun
  4. Gravitational pull compresses the comet into a glowing liquid
Show answer

Answer: A

As a comet approaches the Sun, solar heat sublimates its ice directly into gas, forming a glowing atmosphere (coma) and a dust/gas tail.

6. Where do most long-period comets originate from in the distant reaches of the Solar System?

  1. The Asteroid Belt
  2. Earth's thermosphere
  3. The Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt
  4. The core of Jupiter
Show answer

Answer: C

Comets originate from distant outer icy regions of the Solar System: the Kuiper Belt and the spherical Oort Cloud.

7. What term describes a space rock that survives passage through Earth's atmosphere and strikes the ground?

  1. Meteor
  2. Meteorite
  3. Asteroid
  4. Tektite
Show answer

Answer: B

A meteorite is the remnant of a meteoroid that survives its passage through the atmosphere and impacts Earth's surface.

8. Roughly how often does Halley's Comet become visible from Earth?

  1. Every 10 to 12 years
  2. Every 75 to 76 years
  3. Every 150 years
  4. Every 1,000 years
Show answer

Answer: B

Halley's Comet has a famous periodic orbit that brings it past Earth approximately once every 75 to 76 years.

9. Which celestial object is the largest known body in the Asteroid Belt, also classified as a dwarf planet?

  1. Halley
  2. Eros
  3. Ceres
  4. Vesta
Show answer

Answer: C

Ceres is the largest object in the Asteroid Belt and is officially classified as a dwarf planet.

10. Where is the primary Asteroid Belt located in our Solar System?

  1. Between Earth and Mars
  2. Between Mars and Jupiter
  3. Between Jupiter and Saturn
  4. Beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt
Show answer

Answer: B

The Asteroid Belt is located in the region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Sponsored