Comets and Meteors - Project 1 - Comet Nucleus: Linking a Comet's Composition to its Properties
Project 1
Comet Nucleus: Linking a Comet's Composition to its Properties
Purpose/Hypothesis
In this project, you will construct a comet* using either the same or similar ingredients that make up a real comet. Comets are composed of bits of dirt or dust, held in place by ice. The ice is a combination of water and carbon dioxide ice. Comets contain carbon-based or organic molecules and ammonia. Sodium or salt was found to be in the comet Hale-Bopp. Trapped gas and an uneven surface are other features of a comet.
It is these materials in the nucleus that form the brilliant head and tail when they come close to the Sun. Once you have constructed the comet, you can then observe its behavior.
*Adapted from "Making A Comet in the Classroom" by Dennis Schatz, Pacific Science Center, 1985.
Level of Difficulty
Moderate (because of the number of trials...
[The entire page is 643 words long]
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