Author Question: Describe characteristics of an impact crater. What will be an ideal ... (Read 157 times)

APUS57

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 571
Describe characteristics of an impact crater.
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Describe the difference between meteors and meteorites.
  What will be an ideal response?



eliasc0401

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 338
Answer to Question 1

ANSWER: One might imagine that an asteroid striking Earth would create a big hole in the ground with a shape dependent on the incoming angle of the object. However, the incredible velocity, and therefore the energy, of the impactor requires that it explode violently on impact. The effect is more like a missile being fired into a sand surface. It blasts a nearly round hole regardless of the impact. If the impactor is large enough, the explosion violently compresses material in the bottom of the crater, accelerating it to speeds of a few kilometers per second and ejecting material outward at hypervelocity. The center of the crater rebounds rapidly to form a central cone; that cone and the outer rim almost immediately collapse inward to form a wider but shallower final crater. Impact craters provide evidence about the size and date of past impacts and also help us speculate about the damage those impacts would have caused.

Answer to Question 2

ANSWER: When small pieces of rock from space enter the atmosphere at high speeds, friction with the air molecules heats the surrounding air to white-hot incandescence, forming meteors, or what we sometimes call shooting stars. When a large rock enters Earth's atmosphere, it heats up due to friction with the air and forms a fireball that glows for a period of time before it either disintegrates or survives to strike the Earth. When an object is large enough to survive its passage through the atmosphere without burning up and colliding with Earth, it is called a meteorite.



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question
 

Did you know?

On average, someone in the United States has a stroke about every 40 seconds. This is about 795,000 people per year.

Did you know?

Malaria mortality rates are falling. Increased malaria prevention and control measures have greatly improved these rates. Since 2000, malaria mortality rates have fallen globally by 60% among all age groups, and by 65% among children under age 5.

Did you know?

More than 20 million Americans cite use of marijuana within the past 30 days, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). More than 8 million admit to using it almost every day.

Did you know?

Bisphosphonates were first developed in the nineteenth century. They were first investigated for use in disorders of bone metabolism in the 1960s. They are now used clinically for the treatment of osteoporosis, Paget's disease, bone metastasis, multiple myeloma, and other conditions that feature bone fragility.

Did you know?

Bacteria have flourished on the earth for over three billion years. They were the first life forms on the planet.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library