What are tiny, rocky objects that orbit the Sun?

• A. Asteroids
• B. Planets
• C. Meteoroids
• D. Comets

Answer: (A)

These items test how we name small rocky bodies that orbit the Sun and how they differ from other space rocks. Asteroids are rocky bodies that orbit the Sun, mostly found in the belt between Mars and Jupiter. They’re solid ice-free rocks, varying in size from tiny to hundreds of kilometers across, and they’re distinct from comets, which are icy and develop tails when warmed by the Sun, and from meteoroids, which are much smaller fragments traveling through space. Planets are much larger bodies that also orbit the Sun, but they’re not the small rocky debris that characterizes asteroids. So the description points to asteroids.