Which of the following best describes the internal layering of Jupiter, from the center outward? A) Core of rock and metal; mantle of lower density rock; upper layer of gaseous hydrogen; cloud layerB) Solid rock core; layer of solid metallic hydrogen; layer of pure liquid hydrogen; cloud layer. C) Liquid core of hydrogen compounds; liquid hydrogen layer; metallic hydrogen layer; gaseous hydrogen layer; cloud layer. D) Core of rock, metal, and hydrogen compounds; thick layer of metallic hydrogen; layer of liquid hydrogen; layer of gaseous hydrogen; cloud layer

Option D

Explanation:

Jupiter is made almost totally from hydrogen and some hydrogen compounds. It may have a solid hydrogen core, then a liquid hydrogen layer, then a gaseous layer.

It is not known if Jupiter has a solid surface, or even a liquid surface. We measure Jupiter's diameter from the top of its gas layer.

The core is often described as rocky, but its detailed composition is unknown, as are the properties of materials at the temperatures and pressures.

The presence of a core during at least part of Jupiter's history is suggested by models of planetary formation that require the formation of a rocky or icy core massive enough to collect its bulk of hydrogen and helium from the protosolar nebula. Assuming it did exist, it may have shrunk as convection currents of hot liquid metallic hydrogen mixed with the molten core and carried its contents to higher levels in the planetary interior. A core may now be entirely absent, as gravitational measurements are not yet precise enough to rule that possibility out entirely.