Astronomy 10 Midterm 2, Spring Semester 2008
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
Astronomy 10 learning goal M2.2
[3.0 points.] Which one of the following choices best describes what made the large iron crystals found in iron meteorites?
(A) Rapid cooling as liquid droplets sprayed outward during impacts between early solar system bodies.
(B) Heat generated by impacts by asteroids on other terrestrial planets.
(C) Heat generated from passing through the Earth's atmosphere as a meteor.
(D) Heat generated from frequent collisions between asteroids and asteroid fragments.
(E) Very gradual cooling in the interiors of large asteroids.
Correct answer: (E).
The interiors of large asteroids would have taken longer to cool off than smaller asteroids (The Turkey/Cornish Hen Effect), such that the iron cores of the large asteroids would have cooled gradually enough for the iron atoms to assemble themselves into an orderly fashion, forming large crystalline domains.
Student responses
Section 5166
(A) : 11 students
(B) : 0 students
(C) : 6 students
(D) : 7 students
(E) : 40 students
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