Question

How do terrestrial and giant planets differ? List as many ways as you can think of.

Answer 1

Answer: The differences between terrestrial planets and the giant planets are s follows-

1. The inner planets namely Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are the terrestrial planets, whereas the outer planets namely Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are known as the outer planets.
2. Inner planets are composed mainly of silicate materials as well as some metals, whereas the giant planets are comprised of water (in different states) and gases such as Hydrogen and Helium.
3. The density of the inner planets are more in comparison to the outer planets, where earth has the highest of about 5.5 gm/cm³ and Saturn has the lowest of about 0.7 gm/cm³.
4. Due to the location of the inner planets near to the sun, they have high boiling point, whereas outer planets are much far from the sun so they have a low boiling point.