Question

select all the correct answers.
layla is researching one of the outer planets. so far, she knows only that it is either a gas giant or an ice giant. which two statements best describe how laylas planet was formed?
pressure near the sun pushed the lighter elements far into space, where some of them could condense
the planet accreted a significant amount of rocky material to form a planet larger than earth.
the suns extreme temperatures caused the planets gases to condense close to the sun
the planet experienced nuclear fusion within its core, surpassing temperatures found even on the sun
the planet developed a larger diameter than any of the four terrestrial planets located near the sun

Explanation:

• First option: In the early solar system, pressure from the Sun (like radiation pressure) pushed lighter elements (such as hydrogen - rich compounds for ice giants and hydrogen and helium for gas giants) outward. These elements could then condense in the colder regions of the outer solar system to form the outer planets.
• Fifth option: The four terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) are relatively small. Gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn) and ice giants (Uranus, Neptune) have much larger diameters. For example, Jupiter has a diameter about 11 times that of Earth.

The second option is incorrect because outer planets (gas and ice giants) are not primarily formed from rocky material. The third option is wrong as the outer planet's gases condensed far from the Sun. The fourth option is incorrect because nuclear fusion does not occur in the cores of these planets (only in stars like the Sun).

Answer:

• Pressure near the Sun pushed the lighter elements far into space, where some of them could condense.
• The planet developed a larger diameter than any of the four terrestrial planets located near the Sun.