| Questions | 5 |
| Topics | Comets, Heredity, Kuiper Belt, Primary Consumers, Troposphere |
A comet is a loose collection of ice, dust, and small rocky particles that, in contrast to an asteroid, has an extended atmosphere surrounding the center. When passing close to the Sun, this atmosphere warms and begins to release gases forming a visible coma or tail.
Heredity is the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another. Heredity is made possible via large strings of chromosomes which carry information encoded in genes.
The Kuiper Belt is similar to the asteroid belt but much larger. Extending beyond the orbit of Neptune, it contains objects composed mostly of frozen methane, ammonia, and water. Most notably, the Kuiper Belt is home to Pluto, a dwarf planet that, until a 2006 reclassification, was considered the ninth planet of the solar system.
Primary consumers (herbivores) subsist on producers like plants and fungus. Examples are grasshoppers, cows, and plankton.
The Earth's atmosphere has several layers starting with the troposphere which is closest in proximity to the surface. Containing most of the Earth's breathable air (oxygen and nitrogen), it's a region with warmer temperatures closer to the surface and cooler temperatures farther away which results in the rising and falling air that generates weather.