Asteroid

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/asteroid

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary classification basis?Spectral reflectance properties indicating surface composition
2. What is the major orbital reservoirs?Main Asteroid Belt (2-4 AU) and Jupiter's Trojan points (L4, L5)
3. What are asteroids and how big are they?Asteroids are rocky space rocks that are smaller than planets but bigger than pebbles. They are leftovers from the early solar system that never became a planet.
4. Why are there different types of asteroids like C-type, M-type, and S-type?Asteroids are grouped into C‑type, M‑type, and S‑type based on how they reflect light. C‑types are dark and full of carbon, M‑types are bright and made of metal, and S‑types are bright and have silicate minerals.

Planetesimal: Small celestial bodies that formed from the accretion of dust and gas in the early solar system.
Lagrange Points: Gravitationally stable points in the orbit of two large bodies, like Jupiter and the Sun.
Protoplanetary Disk: A rotating disk of dense gas and dust surrounding a newly formed star, from which planets eventually form.