What Eventually Happens to a Comet When Its Orbit Brings

question 39

Multiple Choice

What eventually happens to a comet when its orbit brings it into the inner Solar System?

• A) It builds up speed and increases its orbital period.
• B) It is vaporized by the Sun, becoming inactive rock and dust.
• C) It is pulled in by the gravitation forces of a Terrestrial planet.
• D) It is blasted apart by asteroids within the asteroid belt.
• E) It absorbs more ice and rock from asteroids within the asteroid belt.

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Definitions:

Chair Conformer

A stable, three-dimensional conformation of cyclohexane characterized by a shape resembling a chair, minimizing steric strain and torsional strain.

α-D-Glucopyranose

An alpha anomer of glucose in its cyclic form, where the hydroxyl group at the anomeric center is in the axial position.

Pyranose Forms

The six-membered oxygen-containing heterocyclic forms of monosaccharides or sugars.

Monosaccharide

The simplest form of carbohydrates, consisting of a single sugar molecule, such as glucose or fructose.