Question

Why do gas giants generally have lower average temperatures than the terrestrial planets?

A. They are farther from the sun.
B. They feature the greenhouse effect.
C. They do not have rocky cores.
D. They rotate more quickly.

Answer 1

A. They are farther from the sun

Answer 2

Option (A)

Step-by-step explanation:

The gaseous planet refers to the outer four planets that are located beyond the asteroid belt. These are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. These four planets are farther away from the sun with large elliptical orbit around the sun. It is due to which the surface temperature of these planets is very cool, in comparison to the inner planets.

In simple words, the distance of a planet from the sun is inversely proportional to the surface temperature of that planet.

The space is extremely cold, about -270 degrees Celsius, and as the sunlight does not reach efficiently up to these gaseous planets, so their temperature remains relatively much colder.

Thus, the correct answer is option (A).