Is there a difference between vaporize and evaporate?

To vaporize means to change to a vapor very rapidly, almost in a instant. To evaporate means to change to a vapor much slower, sometimes taking hours/ days. To disintegrate means to break up in smaller particles which can be the size of a rock or as fine as ash. Your teacher was half-right. When entering the Earth's atmosphere, because of friction, the object will first incinerate, then disintegrate. The incineration increases the process of disintegration and usually the particles do not reach the surface. If the object is large enough, pieces can reach the Earth's surface after disintegration. Remember the "Columbia" disaster?