Lesson review worksheet on asteroids, comets, and meteors, including fill-in-the-blank questions, term matching, and a diagram labeling exercise.

Here's the complete solution to the worksheet 27.4 – Asteroids, Comets, & Meteors.

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## ✔ PART A: Complete the following statements using the word bank.

Word Bank:
*Asteroid, Mars, Meteorite, Meteor, Rock, Meteor Shower, Jupiter, Metals*

1. A large chunk of rock that orbits the Sun is an _Asteroid_.
→ *Asteroids are rocky bodies orbiting the Sun, mostly found in the asteroid belt.*

2. A piece of rock or metal that strikes Earth’s surface is a _Meteorite_.
→ *Once a meteoroid survives atmospheric entry and lands on Earth, it becomes a meteorite.*

3. A piece of rock or metal that enters Earth’s atmosphere is a _Meteor_.
→ *As it burns up in the atmosphere, it creates a streak of light — commonly called a “shooting star.”*

4. Most asteroids are located between _Mars_ & _Jupiter_.
→ *This region is known as the asteroid belt.*

5. Asteroids are made up of _Rock_ & _Metals_.
→ *They are primarily composed of silicate rocks and metallic elements like iron and nickel.*

6. A _Meteor Shower_ occurs whenever Earth moves through the dust trail of a comet.
→ *When Earth passes through debris left by a comet, many meteors appear in the sky — this is a meteor shower.*

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## ✔ PART B: Match each term in Column B with its description in Column A.

| Column A (Description) | Column B (Term) |
|------------------------|-----------------|
| 1. Lump of ice, frozen gas, and dust that orbits the Sun | b. Comet |
| 2. Head or solid part of a comet | d. Nucleus |
| 3. Gas cloud that surrounds the nucleus of a comet | f. Coma |
| 4. Long, ribbonlike comet trail of dust and gas | g. Tail |
| 5. Shape of a comet’s orbit | e. Ellipse |
| 6. Cloud of inactive comets far beyond Pluto’s orbit | a. Kuiper Belt |
| 7. Cloud of inactive comets beyond Neptune’s orbit | c. Oort Cloud |

> 💡 Note: The Kuiper Belt is just beyond Neptune (and includes Pluto), while the Oort Cloud is much farther out — a spherical shell surrounding the solar system. Some sources may say "beyond Neptune" for both, but technically:
> - Kuiper Belt = beyond Neptune, relatively close (~30–50 AU)
> - Oort Cloud = far beyond Pluto (~5,000–100,000 AU)

So if your textbook says “beyond Neptune” for #7, it likely refers to the Oort Cloud, which is correct.

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## ✔ SKILL CHALLENGE

Figure A: Draw tails on the comet to show how they change as the comet orbits the Sun.

➡️ Explanation:
Comet tails always point away from the Sun, regardless of the comet’s direction of motion. This is because the solar wind and radiation pressure push the gas and dust away from the comet’s nucleus.

✔ How to draw:
- When the comet is approaching the Sun (left side of orbit), draw the tail behind it, pointing away from the Sun.
- At perihelion (closest to Sun), the tail is longest and directly away from the Sun.
- As it moves away (right side of orbit), the tail still points away from the Sun, so it appears to lead the comet.

*(Imagine the tail is being “blown” by solar wind — always pushed opposite the Sun.)*

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Figure B: Label the parts of the comet — Coma, Nucleus, Tail.

Based on standard comet anatomy:

- 1. Coma → The fuzzy, glowing cloud around the nucleus, formed when the comet heats up near the Sun.
- 2. Nucleus → The solid, icy core of the comet — the “dirty snowball.”
- 3. Tail → The long stream of gas and dust trailing behind, pointing away from the Sun.

✔ So label:

- 1. Coma
- 2. Nucleus
- 3. Tail

*(Note: In some diagrams, the tail might be split into ion tail and dust tail, but here it’s labeled as one “Tail” — so just label it as such.)*

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## 📝 Final Answer Summary:

Part A:

1. Asteroid
2. Meteorite
3. Meteor
4. Mars & Jupiter
5. Rock & Metals
6. Meteor Shower

Part B:

1. b
2. d
3. f
4. g
5. e
6. a
7. c

Skill Challenge:

- Figure A: Draw tails pointing AWAY FROM THE SUN at every position along the orbit.
- Figure B:
1. Coma
2. Nucleus
3. Tail

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Let me know if you’d like a visual sketch or printable answer key! 🌠