The Shoemaker-NEAR Spacecraft Explored Two Asteroids, Mathilde and Eros

question 22

Multiple Choice

The Shoemaker-NEAR spacecraft explored two asteroids, Mathilde and Eros. A big difference between them is that:

• A) Mathilde appears to be pile of "rubble" (a collection of separate rocks) while Eros is solid
• B) Mathilde is a "real" asteroid, while Eros is a comet that has lost some of its ice
• C) Mathilde is always inside the orbit of the Earth, while Eros is always outside our planet's orbit
• D) Mathilde is going to impact the Earth, while Eros will never come near our planet
• E) you can't fool me, the two asteroids have exactly the same properties; that's why the same spacecraft could explore them

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Definitions:

Electrolysis

A chemical process in which electrical current is passed through a substance to effect a chemical change, commonly used for metal plating and water splitting.

Moles

A mole is a unit of measurement in chemistry representing 6.022 x 10^23 particles of a substance, used to express the amount of a chemical substance.

Cupric Ions

Ions of copper in a +2 oxidation state, commonly involved in various biological and chemical processes.

Tchebysheff's Theorem

A statistical theorem that specifies the minimum proportion of observations within a certain number of standard deviations from the mean for any distribution shape.