Asteroids, Comets and Meteors · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Asteroids, Comets, and Shooting Stars

Science · Space Exploration · ages 7-9
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. A spacecraft scoops up a sample from a small space object: ice mixed with dust and frozen gas, like the stuff of a dirty snowball. Which object did it most likely visit?

    • An asteroid, because asteroids are icy
    • A comet, because comets are icy bodies
    • A meteorite, because meteorites are icy

  2. Where are most asteroids found?

    • Between Mercury and Venus
    • Between Mars and Jupiter
    • Beyond Neptune

  3. A meteor is a streak of light you see when a space rock burns up in the sky.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A comet swings far away from the Sun, back into cold deep space. What happens to its glowing tail?

    • It fades away, because no heat is turning the comet's ice into gas and dust
    • It grows longer and brighter than ever
    • It freezes into solid rock

  5. Which sentence best describes an asteroid?

    • A rocky or metal chunk left over from the solar system's formation
    • A ball of ice with a glowing tail
    • A planet with rings

  6. A tiny space rock is falling toward Earth. Put its names in order, from space to landing.

    MeteoroidMeteorMeteorite
    • Meteoroid, Meteor, Meteorite
    • Meteor, Meteoroid, Meteorite
    • Meteorite, Meteor, Meteoroid

  7. A telescope shows a bright object with a long glowing tail moving through the outer solar system. Is it more likely an asteroid or a comet?

    • An asteroid, because asteroids always have tails
    • Neither, only planets have tails
    • A comet, because tails form as its ice turns to gas near the Sun

  8. Zoe finds a rock on the ground and says, 'This just fell from space, so it's a meteoroid.' What is her mistake?

    • It should be called a meteorite, since it has landed on Earth
    • It should be called a comet, since it came from space
    • It should be called an asteroid, since it is rocky
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Asteroids, Comets, and Shooting Stars W1-mt_uoTBeyMhGm-s1

  1. A comet, because comets are icy bodies · The sample is icy, like a dirty snowball. Comets are made of ice, dust, and frozen gas. Asteroids are rock and metal, and meteorites are rocks that have landed.
  2. Between Mars and Jupiter · Most asteroids float in a wide belt of space between Mars and Jupiter.
  3. True · That flash of light as a space rock burns up in the air is called a meteor.
  4. It fades away, because no heat is turning the comet's ice into gas and dust · The tail is gas and dust that the Sun's heat pushes out of the comet's ice. Far from the Sun there is no heat, so no new gas streams out and the tail fades.
  5. A rocky or metal chunk left over from the solar system's formation · Asteroids are rocky or metal bodies, not icy ones like comets.
  6. Meteoroid, Meteor, Meteorite · It is a meteoroid in space, a meteor as it streaks through the air, and a meteorite once it lands.
  7. A comet, because tails form as its ice turns to gas near the Sun · A glowing tail is a comet's signature, made as its ice turns to gas and dust. Asteroids are rocky and do not grow tails.
  8. It should be called a meteorite, since it has landed on Earth · Once a space rock lands on Earth, we call it a meteorite, not a meteoroid.
Worksheet · LightMySky