Howardites

The answer sheet for the worksheet What falls from the sky. Each answer comes with the reason, so it can be used to mark or to go over the questions with the class.

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Adult · Adults; no background neededAnswer sheet for teachers

Answers: What falls from the sky

  1. B: About 70%Oceans cover about 71% of Earth's surface, so a random landing spot is in the sea about seven times in ten.
  2. A: FindsMost known meteorites were discovered later with no record of their arrival, so they are finds.
  3. A: About 1001% is 0.01, and 0.01 × 10,000 = 100.
  4. C: Nobody recorded its path through the skyAn orbit is calculated from a recorded arrival; a find has no record of how or when it came in.
  5. C: It may be found later, or slowly weather awayUnrecovered meteorites wait to be found as finds, or they break down by weathering.
  6. True (Many thousands of times a year worldwide)They are far rarer than dust but still land many thousands of times a year across the globe.
  7. False: the right answer is The fall, as it spent little time on EarthA fall is collected soon after landing, while a find may have lain exposed to weathering for a long time.
  8. No: a meteorite is only a piece that reaches the ground (accept any answer with the same meaning)The word meteorite is kept for a fragment that survives entry and lands; a meteor with no surviving piece leaves none.
  9. Antarctica and hot deserts (accept any answer with the same meaning)Finds, which are the great majority, come mostly from Antarctica and hot deserts.
  10. The streak of light made as the body enters the air (accept any answer with the same meaning)A meteor is the light produced when a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, not the object itself.

Task

Answers will vary. The task comes from the lesson: Read about one recent fireball on this site's fireball pages. Note the time, where it was seen and how long it lasted. Then think about what you would do if you saw one: where you were, which direction you faced, and how long it lasted are the most useful details for scientists.

Look for work that uses the key words correctly and gives a reason for each point.

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