8

Science
Quarter 2 – Module 6:
Comets, Meteors, & Asteroids
Science – Grade 8
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 2 – Module 6: Comets, Meteors, & Asteroids
First Edition, 2020

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Science
Quarter 2 – Module 6:
Comets, Meteors, & Asteroids
Introductory Message
For the Facilitator:

Welcome to the Science-Grade 8 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on Comets,

Meteors, & Asteroids!

This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by educators both
from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher or facilitator in helping
the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming
their personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.

This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into consideration their
needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of
the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage
their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.
For the Learner:

Welcome to the Science-Grade 8 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on Comets,

Meteors, & Asteroids!

The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often used to
depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create and
accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a learner
is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies and
skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

This will give you an idea of the skills or

What I Need to Know competencies you are expected to learn in the
module.

This part includes an activity that aims to

What I Know check what you already know about the
lesson to take. If you get all the answers
correct (100%), you may decide to skip this
module.

This is a brief drill or review to help you link

What’s In the current lesson with the previous one.

In this portion, the new lesson will be

What’s New introduced to you in various ways such as a
story, a song, a poem, a problem opener, an
activity or a situation.

This section provides a brief discussion of the

What is It lesson. This aims to help you discover and
understand new concepts and skills.

This comprises activities for independent

What’s More practice to solidify your understanding and
skills of the topic. You may check the
answers to the exercises using the Answer
Key at the end of the module.

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 This includes questions or blank
What I Have Learned sentence/paragraph to be filled in to process
what you learned from the lesson.

This section provides an activity which will

What I Can Do help you transfer your new knowledge or skill
into real life situations or concerns.

This is a task which aims to evaluate your

Assessment level of mastery in achieving the learning
competency.

In this portion, another activity will be given

Additional Activities to you to enrich your knowledge or skill of the
lesson learned. This also tends retention of
learned concepts.

This contains answers to all activities in the

Answer Key module.

At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in developing

this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the
module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and
gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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 What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
master the world of Earth & Space. The scope of this module permits it to be used in
many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse
vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard
sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to
correspond with the textbook you are now using.

After going through this module, you are expected to:

● Compare and contrast comets, meteors, and asteroids.

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 What I Know

Direction: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate
sheet of paper.

1. Between which orbits does the main asteroid belt lie?

A. Jupiter & Mars C. Mars & Earth
B. Saturn & Jupiter D. Venus & Earth

2. Astronomers think that most comets come from _____.

A. interstellar space
B. condensation of gas in the Sun’s hot outer atmosphere
C. luminous clouds in the Earth’s upper atmosphere created when a small
asteroid is capture by the Earth’s gravity
D. small icy bodies in the extreme outer parts of the Solar System

3. What causes the bright streak of light that we see when a meteoroid
enters the Earth’s atmosphere?
A. Frictional heating C. Reflection of sunlight
B. Radioactive decay D. disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field

4. Which of the following is CORRECT about the tail of a comet?

A. It always points towards the Sun.
B. It always points away from the Sun.
C. It is made of both gas and dust pulled off by the Sun’s gravity
D. A comet’s tail is caused by atmospheric refraction as it moves through
space.

5. Ceres, although originally believed to be a major planet, actually belongs

to the group of objects called:
A. Asteroids B. Comets C. Meteors D. Meteorites

6. The Halley’s comet is considered a periodic comet and returns to the

Earth’s vicinity about once every _____.
A. 75 years B. 93 years C. 159 years D. 256 years

7. What is the Oort Cloud?

A. a cluster of asteroids C. a swarm of comets far from the Sun
B. the same as the coma of a comet D. the cloud that a meteoroid
produces
8. Which of the following is referred to as “shooting star”?
A. asteroid C. meteor
B. comet D. planet

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 9. Which of the following statements is TRUE about comets and asteroids?
A. Both comets and asteroids are made of ice and dust.
B. Comets form tails while asteroids do not.
C. Only comets orbit the Sun.
D. A comet’s orbit is elliptical while an asteroids orbit is circular.

10. Which of the following is TRUE about meteoroids?

A. They are found in the Kuiper Belt.

B. They have an icy composition.
C. They are bigger than comets and asteroids.
D. They are smaller than comets and asteroids.

For Item Nos. 11 – 13, please refer to the given table.

CHARACTERISTICS COMET ASTEROID

Size range of diameter (km) 1-10 (nucleus only) 1-100++
Origin Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud Main Asteroid Belt
Shape Varied/Irregular Varied/Irregular
Orbit Highly Elliptical More rounded
Orbital period (years) 75 to 100,000 +++ 1-100

11. Which will most likely to make a frequent visit to Earth?

A. Comet B. Asteroid C. Both A & B D. Neither A nor B

12. Which of the following statements is NOT true for comets and asteroids?

A. Comets completes its orbit faster than asteroids.

B. Both comets and asteroids have different shapes.
C. Both comets and asteroids come from different origin.
D. Asteroids are bigger than comets.

13. Which NEO will create greater impact if it hits Earth?

A. Comet because it has larger size than asteroid.

B. Asteroid because it has larger size than comet.
C. Both will make greater impact because both have the same size.
D. It is impossible for both comets and asteroids to hit Earth.

14. What is the average period of orbit of a comet?

A. 75 – 100,000 years C. 20 – 49 years

B. 50 – 75 years D. 1 – 19 years

15. Which near-Earth objects (NEO) is/are remnants of the solar system?

A. Comets B. Asteroids C. Meteors D. all of these

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 Lesson
Comets, Asteroids, &
1 Meteors

Last December 2020, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)

confirmed that a Hayabusa2’s capsule carrying black grains from asteroid Ryugu
has landed in an Australian desert. This is a significant event for space exploration
agencies since the materials recovered could be used in researches that will make us
better understand the Universe.

But what exactly are asteroids? How are asteroids different from a comet and
from a meteor? In this module, you will learn about the similarities and differences
between comets, asteroids, and meteors – the small bodies in our solar system.

What’s In

Before we proceed further, it is important to look back on your past lessons

that are in some way related to this topic.

So, are you ready? Let’s begin!

Activity 1: TRUTH OR FICTION!

Direction: Read each statement carefully and indicate if it is TRUTH or FICTION.

STATEMENT TRUTH OR
FICTION
1. What we call a falling star is not really a star.
2. Comets contain water.
3. Meteors are bigger than asteroids.
4. A comet appearing in the sky foretells an impending war
and famine.
5. Comets, asteroids are remnants from the formation of
the solar system.

Activity 2: HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW THEM?

Direction: Complete the “Before the Lesson” section of the Comets, Meteors, and
Asteroids Anticipation Guide by selecting (put a check) which object each statement
describes based on your prior knowledge. You shall go back to this table once you’re
done with the module.
Before Lesson Characteristic After Lesson
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Comet Meteor Asteroid Its structure is considered to be like a large dirty snowball. Comet Meteor Asteroid

It is made up of dust and rock that burn up in the Earth’s

atmosphere.
It is a rock made up of similar material that formed the
planets.
Smaller pieces of rock broken from this object become
meteoroids.
Most of these are located between the orbits of Marks and
Jupiter.

What’s New

Near-Earth Objects (NEO) such as comets and asteroids — and the meteors
that sometimes originate from them — are leftovers from the formation of our solar
system 4.6 billion years ago. While the planets and moons have changed over the
millennia, many of these small chunks of ice, rock, and metal have not. They are
a lot like a fossil record of planetary evolution.

Various space missions are

being conducted to provide
important insights into the
early evolution of planets, and
to help explain the origins of
water on Earth. Tracking NEOs
are also important. On
December 18, 2020 Asteroid
2020 XX3 passed by Earth and
was only 251,000 km away
from it.
On February 16, 2012,
Asteroid 2012 DA14 made a Figure 1. 2020 XX3’s Orbit & Location on December
18, 2020
very close approach to Earth as Source: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/
it orbited the Sun. On the same
day, an asteroid entered Earth’s
atmosphere and exploded over
Lake Chebarkul in Russia
hurting about 1,000 people in
the process. These triggered
doomsday prophecies held by different cultures. But do the appearances of comets
& asteroids bring misfortune? Does wishing upon a falling star bring good luck?

Let’s find out! Let’s get to know these small bodies in our solar system.

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 What is It

The information (including still images/ photographs) in this

section are taken from the NASA Science Solar System
Exploration <solarsystem.nasa.gov).

Comets
In the distant past, people were both awed and alarmed by comets, perceiving
them as long-haired stars that appeared in the sky unannounced and unpredictably.
Chinese astronomers kept extensive records for centuries, including illustrations of
characteristic types of comet tails, times of cometary appearances and
disappearances, and celestial positions. These historic comet annals have proven to
be a valuable resource for later astronomers.

But what really are they?

Comets are frozen leftovers from the
formation of the solar system
composed of dust, rock and ices. They
have been referred to as "dirty
snowballs." They range from a few
miles to tens of miles wide, but as they
orbit closer to the sun, they heat up
and spew gases and dust into a
glowing head that can be larger than
a planet. This material forms a tail Comet ISON shines in this five-minute exposure
that stretches away from the Sun for taken at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center on
8 Nov. at 5:40 a.m. EST. The was captured using
millions of miles. There are likely a color CCD camera attached to a 14" telescope
billions of comets orbiting our Sun in located at Marshall. At the time of this picture,
comet ISON was 97 million miles from Earth,
the Kuiper Belt and even more distant heading toward a close encounter with the sun on
Oort Cloud. 28. Nov. Located in the constellation of Virgo, it is
now visible in a good pair of binoculars.
The current number of known
comets is 3,697. As remnants of the Photo Credits: NASA/MSFC/Aaron Kingery
Published: November 12, 2013
early planetary evolution, comets may yield important clues about the formation of
our solar system. Comets may have brought water and organic compounds, the
building blocks of life, to the early Earth and other parts of the solar system.

Where Do Comets Come From?

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 As theorized by astronomer Gerard
Kuiper in 1951, a disc-like belt of icy
bodies exists beyond Neptune, where a
population of dark comets orbits the Sun
in the realm of Pluto. These icy objects,
occasionally pushed by gravity into orbits
bringing them closer to the Sun, become
the so-called short-period comets.

Taking less than 200 years to orbit the

Sun, in many cases their appearance is
predictable because they have passed by
before. This disc-like belt of icy bodies in the
outer Solar System, extending from the orbit
of Neptune (at 30 AU) to approximately 50 AU
from the Sun is known as the Kuiper belt,
The Kuiper Belt Astronomer Gerard Kuiper, for whom the
Kuiper Belt is named.
Photo Credit: NASA Science Solar System
Exploration Photo Credit: University of Arizona Lunar
and Planetary Lab

occasionally called the Edgeworth–Kuiper

belt. It is similar to the asteroid belt but is
far larger – 20 times as wide and 20–200
times as massive.

Less predictable are long-period

comets, many of which arrive from a region
called the Oort Cloud about 100,000
astronomical units (that is, about 100,000
times the distance between Earth and the
Sun) from the Sun. These Oort Cloud
comets can take as long as 30 million years to complete one trip around the Sun.

Each comet has a tiny frozen part, called a nucleus, often no larger than a few
kilometers across. The nucleus contains icy chunks, frozen gases with bits of
embedded dust. A comet warms up as it nears the Sun and develops an atmosphere,

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or coma. The Sun's heat causes the comet's ices to change to gases so the coma gets
larger. The coma may extend hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

The pressure of sunlight and high-speed solar particles (solar wind) can blow
the coma dust and gas away from the Sun,
An illustration of the Kuiper Belt and Oort sometimes forming a long, bright tail.
Cloud in relation to our solar system. Comets actually have two tails―a dust tail
Photo Credit: NASA Science Solar System
Exploration and an ion (gas) tail.

Source: NASA
Most comets travel a safe distance
Published: December 11, 2009 from the Sun―comet Halley comes no
closer than 89 million kilometers (55
million miles). However, some comets,
called sungrazers, crash straight into the
Sun or get so close that they break up and evaporate.

Exploration of Comets

Scientists have long wanted to study comets in some detail, tantalized by the
few 1986 images of comet Halley's nucleus. The following are some notable space
explorations of comets:

1. NASA's Stardust mission successfully flew within 236 kilometers (147

miles) of the nucleus of Comet Wild 2 in January 2004, collecting
cometary particles and interstellar dust for a sample return to Earth in
2006. The photographs taken during this close flyby of a comet nucleus
show jets of dust and a rugged, textured surface. Minerals formed near
the Sun or other stars were found in the Stardust samples, suggesting
that materials from the inner regions of the solar system traveled to the
outer regions where comets formed.
2. Deep Impact consisted of a flyby spacecraft and an impactor. In July
2005, the impactor was released into the path of the nucleus of comet
Tempel 1 in a planned collision, which vaporized the impactor and
ejected massive amounts of fine, powdery material from beneath the
comet's surface.
How Comets Get Their Names

Comet naming can be complicated. Comets are generally named for their
discoverer—either a person or a spacecraft. For example, comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
was so named because it was the ninth short-periodic comet discovered by Eugene
and Carolyn Shoemaker and David Levy.

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Asteroids
Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky remnants left over from
the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. The current
known asteroid count is: 1,039,283. Most of this ancient space rubble can be found
orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. Asteroids
range in size from Vesta—the largest at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter
- to bodies that are less than 33 feet (10 meters) across. The total mass of all the
asteroids combined is less than that of
Earth's Moon. This image shows four views of asteroid Bennu
along with a corresponding global mosaic. The
Most asteroids are irregularly images were taken on Dec. 2, 2018.
shaped, though a few are nearly Source: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
Published: April 5, 2019
spherical, and they are often pitted or Historical Date: December 2, 2018
cratered. As they revolve around the sun
in elliptical orbits, the asteroids also
rotate, sometimes quite erratically,
tumbling as they go. More than 150
asteroids are known to have a small companion moon (some have two moons). There
are also binary (double) asteroids, in which two rocky bodies of roughly equal size
orbit each other, as well as triple asteroid systems.

Composition

The three broad composition classes of asteroids are C-, S-, and M-types.

● The C-type (chondrite) asteroids are most common, probably consist of clay
and silicate rocks, and are dark in appearance. They are among the most
ancient objects in the solar system.
● The S-types ("stony") are made up of silicate materials and nickel-iron.
● The M-types are metallic (nickel-iron). The asteroids' compositional
differences are related to how far
from the sun they formed. Some
experienced high temperatures
after they formed and partly
melted, with iron sinking to the
center and forcing basaltic
(volcanic) lava to the surface.
Jupiter's massive gravity and
occasional close encounters with Mars or
another object change the asteroids'
orbits, knocking them out of the main belt
and hurling them into space in all directions across the orbits of the other planets.
Stray asteroids and asteroid fragments slammed into Earth and the other planets in
the past, playing a major role in altering the geological history of the planets and in
the evolution of life on Earth.

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 Scientists continuously monitor Earth-crossing asteroids, whose paths
intersect Earth's orbit, and near-Earth asteroids that approach Earth's orbital
distance to within about 45 million kilometers (28 million miles) and may pose an
impact danger. RADAR is a valuable tool in detecting and monitoring potential
impact hazards. By reflecting transmitted signals off objects, images and other
information can be derived from the echoes. Scientists can learn a great deal about
an asteroid's orbit, rotation, size, shape, and metal concentration.

Asteroid Classifications

● Main Asteroid Belt: The majority of known asteroids orbit within the asteroid
belt between Mars and Jupiter, generally with not very elongated orbits. The
belt is estimated to contain between 1.1 and 1.9 million asteroids larger than
1 kilometer (0.6 mile) in diameter, and millions of smaller ones. Early in the
history of the solar system, the gravity of newly formed Jupiter brought an
end to the formation of planetary bodies in this region and caused the small
bodies to collide with one another, fragmenting them into the asteroids we
observe today.
● Trojans: These asteroids share an orbit with a larger planet, but do not collide
with it because they gather around two special places in the orbit (called the
L4 and L5 Lagrangian points). The Jupiter trojans form the most significant
population of trojan asteroids. It is thought that they are as numerous as the
asteroids in the asteroid belt. There are Mars and Neptune trojans, and NASA
announced the discovery of an Earth trojan in 2011.
● Near-Earth Asteroids: These objects have orbits that pass close by that of
Earth. Asteroids that actually cross Earth's orbital path are known as Earth-
crossers. As of June 19, 2013, 10,003 near-Earth asteroids are known and
the number over 1 kilometer in diameter is thought to be 861, with 1,409
classified as potentially hazardous asteroids - those that could pose a threat
to Earth.

How Asteroids Get Their Names

The International Astronomical Union's Committee on Small Body

Nomenclature is one of the naming committees responsible for naming small bodies
in the solar system. Some names are attributed from notable people like the rock
musician Frank Zappa, and done for more somber tributes such as the seven
asteroids named for the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia killed in 2003. Asteroids
are also given a number, for example (99942) Apophis.

Did you know that in 2017 three asteroids were named after the students from
Davao City National High School who won 2nd Place in the Intel International Science
and Engineering Fair (ISEF) for their plant sciences team project? These asteroids
are 34044 Obafial, 34047 Gloria, and 34049 Myrelleangela.

Notable Exploration Highlights

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 ● NASA's Galileo mission was the first spacecraft to
fly past an asteroid. It flew past asteroid Gaspara
in 1991 and Ida in 1993.
● In 2005, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa
landed on the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa and
attempted to collect samples. On June 3, 2010,
Hayabusa successfully returned to Earth a small
amount of asteroid dust now being studied by
scientists.
● In December 2020, a capsule from Hayabusa2
Soil samples are seen inside a
successfully landed in the deserts of Australia container of the re-entry
bringing with it samples from the Asteroid capsule brought back by
Hayabusa2 | JAXA / VIA AP
Ryugu.
● NASA's Dawn spacecraft, launched in 2007,
orbited and explored asteroid Vesta for over a
year. Once it left in September 2012, it headed
towards dwarf planet Ceres. Vesta and Ceres are
two of the largest surviving protoplanet bodies
that almost became planets. By studying them with the same complement of
instruments on board the same spacecraft, scientists will be able to compare
and contrast the different evolutionary path each object took to help
understand the early solar system overall.

Meteors & Meteorites

What’s the difference between a meteor, meteoroid and meteorite? They’re all
related to the flashes of light called “shooting stars” sometimes seen streaking across
the sky. But we call the same object by different names, depending on where it is.

Meteoroids are what we call “space rocks” that range in size from dust grains
to small asteroids. This term only applies when they’re in space. Most are pieces of
other, larger bodies that have been broken or blasted off. Some come from comets,
others from asteroids, and some even come from the Moon and other planets. Some
meteoroids are rocky, while others are metallic, or combinations of rock and metal.
When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere, or that of another planet, like
Mars, at high speed and burn up, they’re called meteors. This is also when we refer
to them as “shooting stars”. Sometimes meteors can even appear brighter than
Venus -- that’s when we call them “fireballs”. Scientists estimate that about 48.5
tons (44,000 kilograms) of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day.

When a meteoroid survives its trip through the atmosphere and hits the
ground, it’s called a meteorite. In

Meteor Showers
Several meteors per hour can usually be seen on any given night. When there
are lots more meteors, you’re watching a meteor shower. Some meteor showers occur

15
annually or at regular intervals as the Earth
passes through the trail of dusty debris left by
a comet (and, in a few cases, asteroids).

Meteor showers are usually named

after a star or constellation that is close to
where the meteors appear to originate in the
sky. Perhaps the most famous are the A burst of 1999 Leonid meteors as seen
Perseids, which peak around August 12 every at 38,000 feet from Leonid Multi
year. Every Perseid meteor is a tiny piece of Instrument Aircraft Campaign.

the comet Swift-Tuttle, which swings by the

Image Credit: NASA/Ames Research
Sun every 135 years. Other notable meteor Center/ISAS/Shinsuke Abe and Hajime
showers include the Leonids, associated with Yano
comet Tempel-Tuttle; the Aquarids and
Orionids, linked to comet Halley, and the
Taurids, associated with comet Encke. Most of
this comet debris is between the size of a grain of sand and a pea and burns up in
the atmosphere before reaching the ground. Sometimes, meteor dust is captured by
high-altitude aircraft and analyzed in NASA laboratories.

One of the major meteor streams is the Leonids meteor shower. In 2020, the
shooting stars was seen from November 16 to November 17. It resulted to 10 to 15
meteors per hour. The Leonids is associated with comet 55P/ Tempel-Tuttle.

Meteorite Impacts in History

Early Earth experienced many large meteor impacts that caused extensive
destruction. While most craters left by ancient impacts on Earth have been erased
by erosion and other geologic processes, the Moon’s craters are still largely intact
and visible. Today, we know of about 190 impact craters on Earth.

A very large asteroid impact 65 million years ago is thought to have

contributed to the extinction of about 75 percent of marine and land animals on
Earth at the time, including the dinosaurs. It
created the 180-mile-wide (300-kilometer- Meteor Crater (also known as Barringer
wide) Chicxulub Crater on the Yucatan Crater), Arizona, USA is only 50,000
Peninsula. years old
Source: Credit: USGS National Map
One of the most intact impact craters is Data Download and Visualization
Services. Caption by Robert Simmon.
the Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona. It’s Published: January 25, 2019
about 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) across and was
formed by the impact of a piece of iron-nickel
metal approximately 164 feet (50 meters) in
diameter. It is only 50,000 years old and so well preserved that it has been used to
study impact processes. Since the 1890s geologists studied it, but its status as an
impact crater wasn’t confirmed until 1960.

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 What’s More

Activity 3: How are we Alike? How are we Different?

Objective:

● Compare and contrast asteroids and comets

Direction:

Comets and asteroids are different in many ways but they share some similar
characteristics. To show their similarities and differences, you shall be using the
Venn Diagram shown below. The blue shaded part is for the descriptions/
information that are only true for comets. The yellow shaded part is for the
descriptions/ information that are only true for asteroids. The green shaded part is
for descriptions/ information that are true for both comets and asteroids.

Read each description found in the table and put them in their correct places
in the Venn Diagram.

Information/ Descriptions:

Made of frozen ice, gas, Have a long dust tail Highly elliptical orbit
and dust
Made of rock and/or Have a long ion tail Some originate from the
metal Kuiper belt
Ceres is the biggest Have no tail Have long gas tail

Halley is one Remnants of the early Some have hit the Earth
evolution of the planets
Part of the Solar System Have no atmosphere Surrounded by hydrogen
cloud

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Venn Diagram:

Activity 4: Meteoroid, Meteor, and Meteorite: How are they Related?

Note: This activity is taken from the DepEd Grade 8 Learner’s Material.
Objectives:

● Describe the changes that happens to a fragment from a comet or asteroid

as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere; and,
● Represent the relationship between a meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite.

Procedure:

Read the selection and answer the questions as you go along.

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Q1. What is a meteor?
Q2. What is a meteoroid?
Q3. What celestial (space) objects can a meteoroid come from?

Q4. What causes a meteor?

Q5. How can you differentiate a meteor from a comet when viewed from Earth?

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Q6. Show were a meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite are most likely to be found in
the diagram below. Write it on the space provided in the diagram.

Q7. How are a meteor, meteoroid, and meteorite related?

What I Have Learned

1. A comet is a body of ice, rock and dust that orbits the sun. It can be several miles in diameter.
Debris from comets is the source of meteoroids.
2. An asteroid is an object larger than a meteoroid that orbits the sun. It is made of rock or metal.
3. A meteoroid is a small rocky or metal object, usually between the side of a grain of sand or a
boulder, that objects the sun. It originated from a comet or asteroid.
4. A meteor is a meteoroid that enters the earth’s atmosphere and vaporizes. It is also called a
“shooting star”.

Revisit the Anticipation Guide in Activity 2 and fill out the After Lesson columns.

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 What I Can Do

Activity 5: Superstitions or Not?

Objective:
● Provide a sound, scientific evidence to support one’s stand about
superstitions on comets, asteroids, and meteors.

Materials:
● Paper and Pen

Instruction:
1. Research about superstitions related to comet and asteroid in the library, internet,
and by interviewing your parents or elderly neighbors.
2. Choose two superstitions (one from the Philippines, and one from other countries).
3. Answer the question: Do superstitions about comets and asteroids have scientific
basis? Why or why not?

4. List down as many scientific evidence to support your answer to the question.
Rubrics:
Weight/ Criterion Description
Percentage
50% Quality of Research All possible sources of information were
exhausted.
50% Evidence-Based Evidence gathered to support the group’s
Stand stand is well supported by accurate scientific
facts and information.

Assessment

Direction: Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate
sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following is referred to as “shooting star”?

A. asteroid C. meteor
B. comet D. planet

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For Item Nos. 2 – 4, please refer to the given table.

CHARACTERISTICS COMET ASTEROID

Size range of diameter (km) 1-10 (nucleus only) 1-100++
Origin Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud Main Asteroid Belt
Shape Varied/Irregular Varied/Irregular
Orbit Highly Elliptical More rounded
Orbital period (years) 75 to 100,000 +++ 1-100

2. Which will most likely to make a frequent visit to Earth?

A. Comet B. Asteroid C. Both A & B D. Neither A nor B

3. Which of the following statements is NOT true for comets and asteroids?
A. Comets completes its orbit faster than asteroids.
B. Both comets and asteroids have different shapes.
C. Both comets and asteroids come from different origin.
D. Asteroids are bigger than comets.

4. Which NEO will create greater impact if it hits Earth?

A. Comet because it has larger size than asteroid.
B. Asteroid because it has larger size than comet.
C. Both will make greater impact because both have the same size.
D. It is impossible for both comets and asteroids to hit Earth.

5. What is the average period of orbit of a comet?

A. 75 – 100,000 years C. 20 – 49 years
B. 50 – 75 years D. 1 – 19 years

6. Astronomers think that most comets come from _____.

A. interstellar space
B. condensation of gas in the Sun’s hot outer atmosphere
C. luminous clouds in the Earth’s upper atmosphere created when a small
asteroid is capture by the Earth’s gravity
D. small icy bodies in the extreme outer parts of the Solar System

7. What causes the bright streak of light that we see when a meteoroid enters
the Earth’s atmosphere?
A. Frictional heating C. Reflection of sunlight
B. Radioactive decay D. disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field

8. Which of the following is TRUE about meteoroids?

A. They are found in the Kuiper Belt.
B. They have an icy composition.
C. They are bigger than comets and asteroids.
D. They are smaller than comets and asteroids.

9. Which of the following is CORRECT about the tail of a comet?

A. It always points towards the Sun.
B. It always points away from the Sun.
C. It is made of both gas and dust pulled off by the Sun’s gravity
D. A comet’s tail is caused by atmospheric refraction as it moves through
space.

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10. The Halley’s comet is considered a periodic comet and returns to the
Earth’s vicinity about once every _____.
A. 75 years B. 93 years C. 159 years D. 256 years

11. Between which orbits does the main asteroid belt lie?
A. Jupiter & Mars C. Mars & Earth
B. Saturn & Jupiter D. Venus & Earth

12. What is the Oort Cloud?

A. a cluster of asteroids C. a swarm of comets far from the Sun
B. the same as the coma of a comet D. the cloud that a meteoroid
Produces

13. Which of the following statements is TRUE about comets and asteroids?
A. Both comets and asteroids are made of ice and dust.
B. Comets form tails while asteroids do not.
C. Only comets orbit the Sun.
D. A comet’s orbit is elliptical while an asteroids orbit is circular.

14. Which near-Earth objects (NEO) is/are remnants of the solar system?
A. Comets B. Asteroids C. Meteors D. all of these

15. Ceres, although originally believed to be a major planet, actually belongs

to the group of objects called:
A. Asteroids B. Comets C. Meteors D. Meteorites

Additional Activities

Activity 6: Space Poetry (For STE Learners)

Space has been a source of inspiration and the subject of creative endeavors
for ages. Ancient storytellers looked to the skies, named constellations and created
tales to accompany their skyward creations. Playwrights, authors, musicians,
photographers and painters have all found inspiration in space and have inspired
others with their works about space.

Your task is to construct a poem about any of all of the three small bodies
introduced in this module – comets, asteroids, and meteors. The form may have the
following forms:

● Acrostic – one in which a word or phrase is spelled our vertically using

a letter from each line
● Shape Poetry – uses the layout of works or other visual cues to convey
meaning that relates to the subject
● Free Verse – not constrained to rules of meter, rhythm and rhyme

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 You may use images from nasa.gov. sites and lay the text of the poem over the
image for visual effects.

Rubrics:

CATEGORY Excellent - 4 Good - 3 Satisfactory - 2 Needs Improvement -

1
CONCEPTUAL The poem has The poem has no The poem has no The poem has
CORRECTNESS conceptual no errors. conceptual errors conceptual errors conceptual error/s.
Student devoted a lot Student devoted Student devoted some Student devoted little
of time and effort TO adequate time and time and effort but time and effort. It
make the poem a good effort to get the job does enough to get by. appears that the
read. done. student does not care
about the assignment.
TITLE The poem has a title The poem has a title The poem has a title The poem has no title
that clearly relates to that relates to the
the poem and adds poem
interest to the theme
or message of the
poem
STYLE The poem is written The poem is written The poem is written The poem lacks style
with a great sense of with a defined with somewhat with style. and the thoughts did
style. The poem has style. Thoughts are Thoughts are clear to a not come out clearly on
been well thought out clear to read and degree. paper.
and makes sense to understandable.
the reader.
VOCABULARY The poem is filled with The poem includes The poem includes The poem lacks
descriptive vocabulary many descriptive some descriptive words description and does
that appeals to the elements and is and phrases. not allow the reader to
reader. appealing. visualize the poem.

Made of frozen ice, gas, Have a long dust tail Highly elliptical orbit
and dust
Made of rock and/or Have a long ion tail Some originate from the
metal Kuiper belt
Ceres is the biggest Have no tail Have long gas tail

Halley is one Remnants of the early Some have hit the Earth
evolution of the planets
Part of the Solar System Have no atmosphere Surrounded by hydrogen
cloud

24
 25
Act. 3. Meteoroid, Act. 3. How are we Alike?
Meteors, Meteorites How are we Different?
Assessment Blue (Comet)
- made of frozen, ice, & gas
C Q1. A meteor is a light
- Halley is one
B phenomenon or a streak of
- Have a long dust tail
light as observed from Earth
A - Have a long ion tail
when a meteoroid passes
B - Have long gas tail
through Earth’s atmosphere
- Some originate from Kuiper
A belt
D Q2. A meteoroid is a - Surrounded by Hydrogen
A fragment from a comet, an cloud
asteroid, Moon, or even Mars - Highly Elliptical Orbit
D
that orbits around the Sun. Green (Both)
B
- Part of the solar system
A Q3. Meteoroids can come - Some have hit the earth
A from comets, asteroids, the - Remnant of the early
C Moon, and Mars. evolution of the planets
B Asteroid (Yellow)
Q4. A meteor is observed - Made of rock and/ or metal
D - Ceres is the biggest
when a meteoroid passes
A - Have no tail
through earth’s atmosphere
and burns up in the process. - Have no atmosphere
What I Know What's In
A Activity 1. Truth or
D False
A
Truth
B
Truth
A
False
A
False
C
Truth
C
Activity 2. How Much
B
Do You Know Them?
D
Comet
B
Meteor
A
Asteroid
B
Meteor
A
Comet
D
Answer Key
References

NASA Science Solar System Exploration < https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/>

Department of Education – Grade 8 Science Learner’s Material

Department of Education – Grade 8 Science Teacher’s Guide

Japan Times (Accessed December 2020) < https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news

/2020/12/19/national/science-health/hayabusa2-asteroid-soil/>

26
For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education - Bureau of Learning Resources (DepEd-BLR)

Ground Floor, Bonifacio Bldg., DepEd Complex

Meralco Avenue, Pasig City, Philippines 1600

Telefax: (632) 8634-1072; 8634-1054; 8631-4985

Email Address: [email protected] *

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