Rutherford's Alpha Scattering Experiment

What was the purpose of Rutherford's alpha scattering experiment?

• To study the behavior of alpha particles in a gold foil

• To investigate the structure of the atom

• To measure the deflection of alpha particles

• To observe the interaction between alpha particles and electrons

What did most of the alpha particles do when directed at the gold foil?

• Passed straight through without any deflection

• Deflected slightly

• Deflected back towards the alpha source

• Got absorbed by the gold foil

What did the deflection of some alpha particles suggest about the nucleus of an atom?

• It has a large positive charge

• It is mostly empty space

• It contains electrons

• It is made up of protons and neutrons

What was the biggest surprise to Rutherford and his team during the experiment?

• Most alpha particles passed straight through the gold foil

• Some alpha particles deflected slightly

• Very few alpha particles deflected back

• All alpha particles were absorbed by the gold foil

What did Rutherford expect to happen to the alpha particles based on the plum pudding model?

• All alpha particles would pass straight through

• All alpha particles would be deflected by the electrons

• All alpha particles would be absorbed by the positive charge

• All alpha particles would be deflected back towards the source

What did the alpha scattering experiment suggest about the structure of the atom?

• The atom is mostly empty space

• The atom is a solid sphere

• The atom contains only electrons

• The atom has a large positive charge

What did the deflection of some alpha particles suggest about the mass of the atom?

• Most of the mass is in the nucleus

• Most of the mass is in the electrons

• The mass is evenly distributed throughout the atom

• The mass is concentrated in the positive charge

What did the alpha particles hitting the detector screen without deflection indicate?

• They passed straight through the gold foil

• They were absorbed by the gold foil

• They were deflected by the electrons

• They were deflected by the positive charge

What did the alpha particles deflected back towards the source suggest?

• The presence of a small nucleus

• The presence of electrons

• The presence of a large positive charge

• The presence of protons and neutrons