What is the primary difference between a red giant and a white dwarf?

A red giant is indeed an expanded star, which occurs in the later stages of its life cycle when it has exhausted the hydrogen fuel in its core and begins to fuse helium or other heavier elements. In this phase, the outer layers of the star expand significantly, making the star much larger in size compared to its earlier state.

In contrast, a white dwarf represents the remnants of a star that has shed its outer layers, leaving behind the dense core. This core is very hot and mostly made of carbon and oxygen, which has collapsed under gravity after the star has gone through the red giant phase and expended its nuclear fuel. The white dwarf is no longer undergoing fusion reactions like the red giant and gradually cools over time.

The other options do not correctly describe the relationship between red giants and white dwarfs. For instance, a white dwarf does not have a larger mass than a red giant; in fact, many red giants can be more massive before they reach the white dwarf stage. Additionally, both the red giant and white dwarf are associated with the later stages of stellar evolution, with a red giant being a late-stage star and the white dwarf being its remnant. Lastly, whether a star is part of a binary system does not define its