8
Science
Quarter 2 - Module 6:
Comets, Asteroids and Meteors
AIRs - LM
Science
Quarter 2 - Module 6: Comets, Asteroids and Meteors
First Edition, 2020
Copy
right © 2020
La Union Schools Division
Region I
All rights reserved. No part of this module may be reproduced in any form
without written permission from the copyright owners.
Development Team of the Module
Author: Laurence M. Lazaga
Editor: SDO La Union, Learning Resource Quality Assurance Team
Illustrator: Ernesto F. Ramos, Jr., P II
Management Team:
ATTY. Donato D. Balderas, Jr.
Schools Division Superintendent
Vivian Luz S. Pagatpatan, Ph.D
Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
German E. Flora, Ph.D, CID Chief
Virgilio C. Boado, Ph.D, EPS in Charge of LRMS
Rominel S. Sobremonte, Ed.D, EPS in Charge of Science
Michael Jason D. Morales, PDO II
Claire P. Toluyen, Librarian II
Science
Quarter 2 - Module 6:
Comets, Asteroids and Meteors
Target
In this module, you will learn about what comets, asteroids and meteors are
and how they differ/similar from each other in terms of characteristics, origins and
compositions.
This module will provide you information and activities that will help you
understand the concepts of Comets, Asteroids and Meteors.
Lesson 1: Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors
• Word hunt
• Table Making
• Asteroid, Comet or Meteor?
• Meteoroid, Meteor and Meteorite
• Fact or Bluff
• Statement completion
At the end of this module, learners are expected to:
Compare and contrast comets, meteors and asteroids (S8E S-IIg 22).
Specifically, the activities will enable you to:
• Describe and identify the physical properties of comet, asteroid
and meteor;
• Explain how meteor, meteoroid and meteorite are related;
• Compare and contrast the physical characteristics of comet,
asteroid and meteor.
Pre-Test
Multiple Choice: Read and answer the following questions by choosing the letter of
the best answer. Use separate sheet for your answers.
1. What do you call the solid center of a comet?
A. Dust B. Gas C. Ion D. Nucleus
2. A meteoroid that survives falling through the Earth’s atmosphere and colliding
with the Earth’s surface is known as ________.
A. Meteor B. Meteoroid C. Meteorite D. Meteor shower
3. People often call it shooting stars or falling stars because they look like stars
falling from the sky.
A. Asteroid B. Comet C. Meteor D. Sun
4. Which of them usually burns up when entering Earth’s atmosphere?
A. Meteor B. Meteoroid C. Meteorite D. Meteor shower
5. Which of the following describe as an icy objects and may contain elements like
sodium or argon?
A. Asteroid B. Comet C. Meteor D. Moon
6. It is usually come from Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt.
A. Asteroid B. Comet C. Meteor D. Moon
7. What is the glowing head around a comet called?
A. Coma B. Crown C. Halo D. Ring
8. Which of the following is also called minor planets or planetoids?
A. Asteroid B. Earth C. Comet D. Meteor
9. Which of the following will occur when we saw many streaks of light from the
Earth?
A. Eclipse B. Global extinction
C. Meteor shower D. Natural disaster
10. The orbit of Asteroid is ________
A. More rounded and less elliptical B. Highly elliptical and less rounded
C. Highly elliptical D. Less rounded
11. What causes the light of a meteor?
A. It’s caused by friction with earth’s atmosphere
B. It’s the same as a comet
C. It’s the same as the star
D. It’s the same as the sun
12.When large asteroid hit the Earth, what do they make?
A. Fire B. Impact craters C. Lightning D. Storm
13. Why do scientists study meteorites?
A. For studying the occurrence of different elements and compounds on Earth
B. For clues what kind of materials formed the sun
C. To find gold and diamonds
D. To find crater
14. What celestial objects can a meteoroid come from?
A. Comets B. Pluto C. Star D. Sun
15. The three types of meteorites are based on ________.
A. Where they have found B. What they are made of
C. How big they are C. How old they are
LESSON: COMETS, ASTEROIDS AND METEORS
Jumpstart
Have you ever seen a shooting star in the night sky? Do you think it’s a comet?
Or do you think it’s a star? These are just some of the few questions we commonly
ask whenever we see unfamiliar objects in the sky at night.
Celestial visitors like comets, asteroids and meteors have always captured the
imagination of ancient civilizations. They have thought of as bad omens or signs of
great change or challenge such as ushering disasters and wars. But with new
scientific processes and tools, as well as greater access to scientific information,
these celestial visitors or what we called Near- Earth Object (NEO) have gained the
appreciation and interest of many people, scientist and non-scientists included, all
over the world.
Discover
Activity 1. Word Hunt
Direction: Locate and circle the 10 words in the grid. Words appear straight, up
down and diagonal. Be guided with the words you are to locate inside the box at the
right side.
Note to the teacher: Provide a copy of the word hunt to the students.
G A R T T W C O N A E M ASTEROID
L A S T E R O I D S S E COMET
A T L Y G B M N O E D T METEOR
C R A T E R E C Z T I E SHOOTING STAR
X R O N X G T R F I O O CRATER
C T U B V Y O Z E R R R OORT CLOUD
0 0 R T C L O U D O O G METEORITES
M R R A M A S K L E E A ORBIT
A R B B U S U N U T T R METEOROIDS
N C O I L I Z X J E E D COMA
I A Y S T B N M K M M E
S H O O T I N G S T A R
1
Did you enjoy the word hunt activity? These words shall be discussed to you
as you go along with the module.
Comets and Asteroids
Comets and asteroids are referred to by astronomers as Near-Earth Objects.
Comets are icy bodies or objects while asteroids are rocky fragments. They both have
irregular shapes and varied sizes. They both reflect light from the sun in varying
amounts depending on the size and composition. Comets and asteroids both orbit
the Sun and move relatively slow when viewed from the Earth.
The major difference is their origin or where they came from in space. Comets
usually come from the Oort Cloud which is beyond our Solar system and a few from
Kuiper Belt. Asteroids, on the other hand, originate from the Main Asteroid Belt
between Mars and Jupiter. Another difference between a comet and an asteroid is
their chemical compositions. Comets are composed of ice, dust and frozen gases and
also called “dirty snowball”. It may contain other elements like sodium and argon,
which is specific to a comet. On the other hand, an asteroid is mostly composed of
rocks (silicates) and metals (iron and nickel) being the usual metals. Lastly, the orbit
of an asteroid is more rounded and less elliptical than the orbit of a comet.
The composition of a comet is important in helping scientists understand how
Earth has a liquid water, which in turn made the planet livable. And, the chemical
composition of an asteroid is important in providing clues for scientist to discover
more about the chemical composition of the Earth and the other planets in the Solar
system.
Comet Anatomy
Figure 1. The Comet Anatomy
Illustration by Rodel Rimando
2
Meteoroid, Meteor and Meteorite
Meteor is a light phenomenon or a streak of light that occurs when a
meteoroid burns up as it enters Earth’s atmosphere. It is also called a “shooting
star”.
When a meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere, the air in front of it heats up,
causing materials to burn up. From Earth, these glowing materials appear as a
streak of light or a fast-moving bright object that appears to have a tail just like a
comet. Their difference is that when we see them in the sky, a comet moves slowly
and appears in the sky for a longer time. A meteor moves swiftly and seems to fall on
the ground. Sometimes, a comet can be bright enough to be seen by the unaided eye,
but this is rare, such as in the case of Comet Hale-Bopp.
A meteoroid usually burns up when it enters Earth’s atmosphere. But when
a fragment from the meteoroid survives and makes it to the ground, this space rock
fragment is now called a meteorite. When earth orbits the sun and passes through
the orbit of a comet where these comet fragments are found, we observe many streaks
of light from Earth which is called a meteor shower.
Activity 2: Table Making
Objective:
• Compare and contrast the physical characteristics of comet and asteroid
Direction: Create a table that shows the similarities and differences of a comet and
an asteroid. The table must contain the following:
a. origin
b. shape
c. orbit
d. chemical composition
Sample table
Features Comet Asteroid
Origin
Shape
Orbit
Chemical composition
3
Explore
Activity 3: Comet, Asteroid or Meteor?
Objective:
• Describe and identify the physical characteristics of comet, asteroid
and meteor.
Direction: Put a check ( / ) in the appropriate boxes to indicate characteristics of
asteroids, comets, and meteors.
Characteristics Asteroid Comet Meteor
Made up of ice, dust and gas
Appears as a streak of light in
the sky
Made up of rocks, iron and
nickel
Often called “shooting star’’
Sometimes called dirty “snow
ball”
Originate from the Main
Asteroid belt
Most are found in the Oort
cloud or Kuiper Belt
4
Activity 4: Meteoroid, Meteor and Meteorite
Part 1.
Direction: Show where a meteoroid, meteor and meteorite are most likely to be found
in the diagram below
1.
2.
3.
Figure 2. Earth’s Crust, Atmosphere and Outer space
Illustration by Rodel Rimando
Guide Question:
Based from the illustration above how are a meteor, meteoroid and meteorite
related? (use separate sheet of paper for your answer)
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Part 2. Fact or Bluff
Direction: Identify if the statements below are fact or bluff. Write FACT if the
statement is correct and BLUFF if it is not.
1. A meteoroid usually all burns up when it enters atmosphere.
2. When a fragment from the meteoroid survives and makes it to the ground it is
called a meteor.
3. A meteor is a light phenomenon or a streak of light that occurs when a meteoroid
burns up as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere.
5
Deepen
Study the given illustration and answer the guide questions.
Table 3. Crater
Illustration by Jasmin Colcol
Guide questions: (Use separate sheet of paper for your answer)
1. Describe the illustration.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. What do you think will happened to the plants and animals living in the area
where a comet, asteroid and meteor crashed?
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
6
Gauge
A. Direction: Complete the following statements using the word bank.
Asteroid Meteorite More rounded Rocks Less rounded
Mars Meteor Jupiter Metal Non-metal
1. Most asteroids are located between___________ and _____________.
2. When a fragment from the meteoroid survives and makes it to the ground, this
space rock fragment is now called a ________________.
3. A light phenomenon or a streak of light that occurs when a meteoroid burns up
as it enters Earth’s atmosphere is a ____________________.
4. Asteroids are made up of __________ and ____________.
5. The orbit of an asteroid is _______________and less elliptical than the orbit of a
comet.
B. Multiple Choice: Read and answer the following questions by choosing the letter
of the best answer. Use separate sheet for your answers.
1. What do you call the solid center of a comet?
A. Dust B. Gas C. Ion D. Nucleus
2. A meteoroid that survives falling through the Earth’s atmosphere and colliding
with the Earth’s surface is known as ________.
A. Meteor B. Meteoroid C. Meteorite D. Meteor shower
3. People often call it shooting stars or falling stars because they look like stars
falling from the sky.
A. Asteroid B. Comet C. Meteor D. Sun
4. Which of them usually burns up when entering Earth’s atmosphere?
A. Meteor B. Meteoroid C. Meteorite D. Meteor shower
5. Which of the following describe as an icy objects and may contain elements like
sodium or argon?
A. Asteroid B. Comet C. Meteor D. Moon
6. It is usually come from Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt.
A. Asteroid B. Comet C. Meteor D. Moon
7. What is the glowing head around a comet called?
A. Coma B. Crown C. Halo D. Ring
8. Which of the following is also called minor planets or planetoids?
A. Asteroid B. Earth C. Comet D. Meteor
9. Which of the following will occur when we saw many streaks of light from the
Earth?
A. Eclipse B. Global extinction
C. Meteor shower D. Natural disaster
10. The orbit of Asteroid is ________
A. More rounded and less elliptical B. Highly elliptical and less rounded
C. Highly elliptical D. Less rounded
7
8
Pre-test
1. D 6. B 11. A
2. C 7. A 12. B
3. C 8. A 13. A
4. B 9. C 14. A
5. B 10. A 15. B
Discover
Activity 1. Word Hunt
G A R T T W C O N A E M
L A S T E R O I D S S E
A T L Y G B M N O E D T
C R A T E R E C Z T I E
X R O N X G T R F I O O
C T U B V Y O Z E R R R
0 0 R T C L O U D O O G
M R R A M A S K L E E A
A R B B U S U N U T T R
N C O I L I Z X J E E D
I A Y S T B N M K M M E
S H O O T I N G S T A R
Activity 2. Table Making
Features Comet Asteroid
Origin Kuiper Belt and Oort cloud Main Asteroid Belt
Shape Varied/irregular Varied/irregular
Orbit Highly elliptical More rounded
Chemical composition Ice (frozen water); gases and Rocks (silicates) and metals
other organic compound (iron and nickel)
Key to Answers
9
Explore
Activity 3. Comet, Asteroid and Meteor
Characteristics Asteroid Comet Meteor
Made up of ice, dust and gas /
Appears as a streak of light in the sky /
Made up of rocks, iron and nickel /
Often called “shooting star’’ /
Sometimes called dirty “snow ball” /
Originate from the Main Asteroid belt /
Most are found in the Oort cloud or Kuiper /
Belt
Activity 4. Part 1 Meteoroid, Meteor and Meteorite
1. Meteoroid
2. Meteor
3. Meteorite
Answer to guide question
A meteoroid usually burns up when it enters Earth’s atmosphere. A meteor is a light phenomenon
that occurs when a meteoroid burns up as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. When a fragment
from the meteoroid survives and makes to the ground, this is now called a meteorite.
Activity 4. Part 2 Fact or Bluff
1. Fact
2. Bluff
3. Fact
Deepen
Answer to guide question
1. It is a crack, break or a hole on the ground or simply a crater
2. Plants and animals living in that area where comet, asteroid and meteor crashed will possibly
damage and die.
Gauge
A. 1. Jupiter, Mars 3. Meteor 5. More rounded
2. Meteorite 4. Rocks and Metal
B. 1. D 6. B
2. C 7. A
3. C 8. A
4. B 9. C
5. B 10. A
References:
Learner’s Module, K-12 Grade 8 Science 8 (Second Quarter, Science 8)
http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-asteroid-detection-protection-2016-3
https://science.howstuffworks.com/natural-disasters/asteroid-hits-earth.thm
http://www.socialcircleschools.com/userfiles/203/Classes/9662/comets-
asteroids-meteors.pdf
https://www.astro.umd.edu/~miller/ASTR100/class13.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226498024_Meteoroids_and_Meteors_-
_Observations_and_Connection_to_Parent_Bodies
https://www.mrsd.org/cms/lib/NH01912397/Centricity/Domain/194/meteors%2
0meteorites%20meteoroids.pdf
10
