Which conclusion could be made from Ernest Rutherford's gold foil experiment?

a. Atoms are made up of mostly empty space.

b. Atoms are mainly solid and block alpha particles.

c. The volume of the nucleus is large compared to the rest of the atom.

d. The mass of the nucleus is small compared to the rest of the atom.

Question

Angelica Salas

Chemistry

31 December, 22:43

Which conclusion could be made from Ernest Rutherford's gold foil experiment?

a. Atoms are made up of mostly empty space.

b. Atoms are mainly solid and block alpha particles.

c. The volume of the nucleus is large compared to the rest of the atom.

d. The mass of the nucleus is small compared to the rest of the atom.

+2

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Chase Kim · Answer 1

a. Atoms are made up of mostly empty space.

Explanation:

Rutherford made an experiment with alpha particles shocking with a gold sheet, and then a film could mark the alpha particles that transpassing the gold sheet. He determined that some of the particles passed by the gold sheet without deflection, some suffer deflection, and a small percent were reflected.

Knowing that alpha particles are positive, Rutherford purposed that the atom is made up of mostly empty space (that's why the particles didn't suffer deflection), with a small positive nucleus that concentrates the mass (and reflects the alpha particles) orbited by electrons with a negative charge, which deflected some particles.