Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): Mercury is the second farthest planet from the Sun.
Reason (R): Mercury is the smallest planet in the entire solar system.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → (A) is not correct but (R) is correct
Assertion (A): Mercury is the second farthest planet from the Sun. Incorrect. Mercury is the planet nearest to the Sun. Going outwards the order is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, so the second farthest planet is Uranus.
Reason (R): Mercury is the smallest planet in the entire solar system. Correct. Mercury is about 4,880 km across, a little over a third of the Earth’s diameter. Since Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006, Mercury is the smallest of the eight planets.