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1) gas giants/outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus Neptune; outside of the asteroid belt
2) Terrestrial planets/inner planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars; inside the asteroid belt
Terrestrial planets are like Earth, Mars, or Venus--they are smaller rocky masses that may also have a thin atmosphere.
Gas planets are like Jupiter, Saturn, or Uranus--they are larger masses that are composed primarily if not exclusively of matter in gas or liquid form.
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DevinThere are two main categorizations of planets, terrestrial planets and gas giants. These can be further subdivided to large terrestrial planets and dwarf planets, and gas giants and ice giants.
Planets are classified according to their composition. Terrestrial planets are mostly rock, metal, and some liquids. Gas giants are mostly gases (especially hydrogen, nitrogen, and helium).
In the solar system orbiting our sun, Sol, there are 18 recognized planets, with two protoplanets and thousands of asteroids and moons (some of which are larger than some of the dwarf planets). The planet classes in our system are as follows (ordered primarily by category and secondarily by mean orbital radius):
Dwarf Planets
- Ceres (5)
- Orcus (10)
- Pluto (11)
- Charon (12)
- Haumea (13)
- Quaoar (14)
- Makemake (15)
- "Snow White" (2007 OR10) (16)
- Eris (17)
- Sedna (18)
Terrestrial Planets
- Mercury (1)
- Venus (2)
- Earth (3)
- Mars (4)
Gas Giants
- Jupiter (6)
- Saturn (7)
Ice Giants
- Uranus (8)
- Neptune (9)
Protoplanets (honorable mentions)
- Vesta (5.3)
- Pallas (5.7)
It is interest to note that every dwarf planet in our system except Sedna orbits within one of our three asteroid belts (Asteroid Belt, 1, Kuiper Belt, 8, Oort Cloud, 0).
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What are the two major groups that planets are divided?
Inner rocky planets and outer gas giant planets. (There are also Ice giants and dwarf planets)
Do the densities of the solar system planets fall into two or more groups?
Yes, the densities of the solar system planets can generally be grouped into two categories: terrestrial planets (such as Earth, Venus, Mars, and Mercury) with higher densities due to their rocky compositions, and the gas giant planets (such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) with lower densities due to their gaseous compositions.
What are the 2 groups that divide the periodic table and their properties?
Metals and non-metals are the two groups. Metal loose electrons. Non metals gain electrons.
How do the planets in the two groups different?
The inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) are rocky terrestrial planets with solid surfaces, while the outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) are gas giants composed mostly of hydrogen and helium. Inner planets are smaller and have thinner atmospheres, while outer planets are much larger and have thick atmospheres of gas and volatile compounds.
What criteria are the planets placed into either the inner or outer groups?
Gas giants (for the outer planets), versus rocky planets.
