Ernest Rutherford and the Atom

What is the plum pudding model of the atom?

• An atom with a nucleus made of positively charged protons and neutral neutrons

• An atom with negatively charged electrons surrounding a blob of positive charge

• An atom made of particles smaller than the atom itself

• An atom that cannot be broken into smaller parts

Who discovered the first subatomic particle, the electron?

• Ernest Rutherford

• J. J. Thomson

• Cricket Media

• Newsela staff

What did Ernest Rutherford discover about uranium?

• Uranium released two types of radiation, alpha rays and beta rays

• Uranium was made of positively charged protons and neutral neutrons

• Uranium fired off tiny pieces of itself

• Uranium was as heavy as helium atoms

What did Rutherford's gold foil experiment reveal?

• Alpha particles could pass through the foil without being absorbed

• Alpha particles could not possibly bounce off the plum pudding model of the atom

• Alpha particles were as heavy as helium atoms

• Alpha particles were made of positively charged protons and neutral neutrons

What did Rutherford theorize about the center of an atom?

• The center of an atom was made of negatively charged electrons

• The center of an atom was mostly empty space

• The center of an atom was a dense nucleus surrounded by light, fast-moving electrons

• The center of an atom was 10,000 times smaller than the size of the atom

What did Rutherford's discovery mean about the structure of the atom?

• The atom was made of a dense nucleus surrounded by light, fast-moving electrons

• The atom was made almost entirely of empty space

• The atom was made of negatively charged electrons

• The atom was made of positively charged protons and neutral neutrons

What did Rutherford's findings lead to?

• An increased understanding of the atom

• The discovery of subatomic particles

• The development of the plum pudding model

• The ability to break atoms into smaller parts

What did J. J. Thomson's experiments show?

• Particles 1,000 times smaller than an atom

• Particles made of positively charged protons and neutral neutrons

• Particles arranged like a blob of positive charge with negatively charged electrons inside

• Particles that could not be broken into smaller parts

What did Rutherford discover about alpha particles?

• Alpha particles were absorbed by a small amount of foil

• Alpha particles were as heavy as helium atoms

• Alpha particles were made of negatively charged electrons

• Alpha particles were helium atoms missing electrons

What did Rutherford's experiment with alpha particles and gold foil reveal?

• Most of the alpha particles passed straight through the foil

• All of the alpha particles bounced back from the foil

• Some of the alpha particles were absorbed by the foil

• None of the above