Essay 2 - Meteorites and the Asteroid Connection Meteorites are samples of world

Question

Essay 2 - Meteorites and the Asteroid Connection

Meteorites are samples of worlds we have never visited in the Solar System. They tell us a lot about asteroids for sure, but also a lot about the properties of the Solar System itself, not the least of which is the Solar System's age.

(1) What is the age of the Solar System and (2) how did we obtain this information from meteorites? one of the main sub-classes of meteorites that you were introduced to is quite (the most) common. (3) Name and describe the properties of this meteorite class and then (4) explain what this particular class of meteorites tells us about most asteroids. Finally, (5) what do the remaining meteorite classes tell us about the rest of the asteroids in the Asteroid Belt?

Explanation / Answer

1) From the study of meteorites, which are said to be the oldest accessible material, the age of the solar system is 5 billion years, as that of the Earth is 4.6 billion years.

2) The age of Solar system is derived from the radioactive decay of isotopes in rocks and meteorites, principally Potassium and Uranium.

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