The terrestrial planets and the giant planets have different compositions because a. the giant planets are much larger. b. the terrestrial planets formed closer to the Sun. c. the giant planets are made mostly of solids. d. the terrestrial planets have few moons.

Terrestrial planets are the solid, rocky planets in the solar system. They include Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
These planets have a dense, metallic core and a rocky mantle.
A key characteristic of terrestrial planets is their relatively smaller size and higher density compared to the giant planets.
The surface of these planets is solid, and they have a relatively thin atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and oxygen.
One of the main reasons for their composition is that they formed closer to the Sun, where high temperatures caused volatile compounds to evaporate.
This left behind materials like silicon and iron, which are less prone to boiling off and formed the rocky bodies.

Giant planets, often referred to as gas giants, include Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
These planets are much larger than their terrestrial counterparts and are composed mostly of hydrogen and helium.
Beneath their thick atmospheres, giant planets may have small solid cores, but most of their mass comes from thick layers of gases and ices.
Due to their distance from the Sun, temperatures were low enough during formation for these volatile compounds to condense.
This allowed the giant planets to accumulate massive amounts of gas.
Their large size also influences their strong gravitational fields, enabling them to capture and retain these gases.

The location of a planet's formation in the solar system significantly impacts its composition.
Closer to the Sun, the higher temperatures led to the evaporation of lighter, volatile materials.
This left behind heavier elements like metals and silicates, which are the building blocks of terrestrial planets.
Farther from the Sun, cooler temperatures allowed volatile compounds such as water, methane, and ammonia to remain solid.
As a result, giant planets, which formed in these cooler regions, could gather thick mantles of ices and gases to surround their cores.
This gradient in temperature and material distribution during the early solar system is a key factor in understanding planetary diversity.

The solar system is composed of the Sun and all the objects that orbit it, including planets, moons, asteroids, and comets.
At its center is the Sun, which provides the gravitational pull that keeps the system together.
The solar system's formation began about 4.6 billion years ago from a giant cloud of gas and dust.
Through a process called accretion, planets began to form by the clumping together of particles within this cloud.
The location of these forming planets relative to the Sun led to significant differences in their characteristics.
Terrestrial planets formed closer to the Sun, while giant planets formed much farther away.
This differentiation is rooted in the varying conditions of the protoplanetary disk, particularly temperature.