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English for Science and TechnologyForm 5

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Unit 1: What are Asteroids?

1

GETTING STARTED

Before you read the text, try and answer the following questions.

1. When you look at the sky, do you wonder what else is there besides the

sun, moon and stars?

2. Name some of the planets in the Solar System.

3. Can humans live in outer space? Why or why not?

UNIT 1 WHAT ARE ASTEROIDS?

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What Are Asteroids?

1 Early this year, a spacecraft was launched in the USA. The spacemission is called Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous(NEAR).Its mission? To travelto a piece of rock in space and find out more about it. The rock is no ordinaryobject. It is an asteroid. Asteroids are one of the smaller planets of the SolarSystem.

2 The asteroid which the spacecraft will circle is called Eros. Whenthe spacecraft reaches Eros, it will send information to scientists by takingpictures of the asteroid. Space missions are important in sending informationabout planets in space.

3 Most asteroids live in an area known as the asteroid belt. This is aregion between Mars and Jupiter. There are thousands of small asteroids.

Scientists believe that these asteroids are the remnants of substances whichcondensed when the Solar System formed but which somehow never became asingle large planet like planet Earth.

4 Some of the larger asteroids are Ceres, Pallas and Vesta. Asteroidsrotate on their axis every 5 20 hours. They move in elliptical orbits. Scientists

say asteroid orbits are unstable. Since asteroids are unsteady, they sometimescollide with other planets. Some go out of their orbit and fall into the sun. Otherseven fly out of the Solar System altogether! A few crash against each other.

5 When these asteroids crash against each other, they break up intosmaller pieces and make a mess in their home. Their home is the asteroid belt.These broken bits are scattered around where they are affected by the gravity of

Jupiter and other planets. The pieces are then pushed out of their home towardsEarths orbit. Once they are in Earths orbit they fall into Earths atmosphere andplunge to the ground as burning meteors.

6 The pieces of asteroids may be small but they are strong. They do

not break up easily when they hit the Earths atmosphere. When meteorites arefound scientists study them. By studying them, scientists try to find out about the

strange world of asteroids. and how they first began.(from Space Science in The Quest (Sept- Dec 96))

LETS READ

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A. State whether the following statements are true (T) or false(F).

1. The space mission is to travel to a space rock.

2. Asteroids are one of the smaller planets of the Solar System.

3. Eros is the asteroid which the spacecraft will circle.

4. The asteroid belt is the region between Eros and Mars.

5. Scientists say asteroids are unsteady when they collide with otherplanets.

6. Asteroids which crash against each other break up into small pieces.

7. Meteorites which fall on Earths surface are called meteors.

8. Pieces of asteroids may be small and weak.

9. Scientists try to find out about the strange world of asteroids bystudying meteors.

10. The spacecraft will send information to scientists by taking pictures ofthe asteroids.

B. Answer the questions based on the text.

1. What are asteroids?

_______________________________________________________________

2. Explain the words Eros and asteroid belt.

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

3. Give two names of some of the larger asteroids.

_______________________________________________________________

4. What happens when asteroids collide with other planets?

_______________________________________________________________

5. How do you think asteroids come about?

_______________________________________________________________

COMPREHENSION CHECK

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A. Read the definitions below and match them with the words given in thebox.

meteorites region collide elliptical orbit

remnants mission meteor spacecraft

Explanation Word1. the leftover bits

2. in an oval manner

3. to knock against

4. small rock from outer space which burns brightly as it

enters Earths atmosphere

5. meteors which have fallen on Earths surface

6. the sending out of a number of persons entrustedwith special work

7. a path followed by a planet round another body

8. an area usually without fixed limits

9. a rocket or other vehicle that can travel in space

B. Replace the underlined words below with the words from the text thathave similar meanings.

1. There are tiny droplets of water on the glass slide. ______________________

2. When we use the microscope, the size of a square on the graph paper seemsbigger that it actually is. ______________________

3. Look! Asteroids rotate on their axis in an unusual manner.________________

WORD POWER

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Passive Construction

1. The passive construction is used when the interest of the speaker or writeris on the activity itself rather than on the doer.

Example : NASA launched a spacecraft early this year in theUSA.

(Active)

A spacecraft was launched by NASA early this yearin the USA.

(Passive)

In this example, the emphasis is on the spacecraft than on NASA.

2. The object in the active voice becomes the subject of the passive

construction.

subject object

NASA launched a spacecraft early this year in the USA. (Active)

subject

A spacecraft was launched early this year in the USA byNASA.

(Passive)

3. The subject of the active voice can reappear in the passive construction as

object of the preposition by. When the subject is unimportant, it does notreappear at all.

dropped

A spacecraft was launched early this year in the USA by NASA.

4. When converting the active voice to the passive, the verb form is changed.

Change the statements below into the passive form.

1. The spacecraft sends information to scientists.

2. Pieces of asteroids may hit the Earths atmosphere.

3. Scientists study meteorites to find about the strange world of asteroids.

4. Asteroids break up into small pieces when they crash against one another.

5. The gravity of Jupiter and other planets affect the broken pieces of asteroids.

LANGUAGE FOCUS

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A. Summary Writing

Some of the larger asteroids are Ceres, Pallas and Vesta.Asteroids rotate on their axis every 5 20 hours. They move in elliptical orbits.Scientists say asteroids orbits are unstable. Since asteroids are unsteady,they sometimes collide with other planets. Some go out of their orbit and fallinto the sun. Others even fly out of the Solar System altogether! A few crashagainst each other.

When these asteroids crash against each other, they break upinto small pieces and make a mess in their home. Their home is the asteroid

belt. These broken bits are scattered around where they are affected by the

gravity of Jupiter and other planets. The pieces are then pushed out of theirhome towards Earths orbit. Once they are in Earths orbit they fall intoEarths atmosphere and plunge to the ground as burning meteors.

The pieces of asteroids may be small but they are strong. Theydo not break up easily when they hit the Earths atmosphere. When meteoritesare found scientists study them. By studying them, scientists try to find outabout the strange world of asteroids. and how they first began.

In not more than 50 words, summarize what happens when asteroids crashagainst each other.

B. Free Writing

Imagine that a group of scientists and you are chosen to embark on anexpedition to one of the planets in the Solar System. Write about yourexpedtition.

LETS WRITE

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