With reference to the representative model of the gold foil experiment

1.	With reference to the representative model of the gold foil experiment, answer the following questions :i. What evidence regarding an atom do lines A, B and C provide?ii. How does Rutherford’s model contradict Thomson’s plum-pudding model?iii. What results would you expect from the experiment if Thomson’s plum-pudding model was correct?
Answer» i. Line A – Most of the space inside the atom is empty because most of the α-particles passed through the gold foil without getting deflected. Line B – The nucleus is positively charged since some α-particles were deflected at small angles. Line C – The nucleus contains most of the atoms mass since few α-particles were deflected backward, i.e. toward the radioactive source. ii. According to plum-pudding model, an atom was considered a positively charged sphere with negatively charged electrons embedded in it. However, Rutherford’s gold foil experiment proved that an atom consists of large empty space with positive charge concentrated only at the centre (nucleus) and negatively charged electrons revolve around the nucleus in various orbits. iii. If Thomson’s plum-pudding model was correct, then in the gold foil experiment we would not expect to see any significant deflection of the α-particles, i.e., Most αparticles would pass through the foil with very small or no deflections.

With reference to the representative model of the gold foil experiment, answer the following questions :i. What evidence regarding an atom do lines A, B and C provide?ii. How does Rutherford’s model contradict Thomson’s plum-pudding model?iii. What results would you expect from the experiment if Thomson’s plum-pudding model was correct?

Answer»

i. Line A – Most of the space inside the atom is empty because most of the α-particles passed through the gold foil without getting deflected.

Line B – The nucleus is positively charged since some α-particles were deflected at small angles.

Line C – The nucleus contains most of the atoms mass since few α-particles were deflected backward, i.e. toward the radioactive source.

ii. According to plum-pudding model, an atom was considered a positively charged sphere with negatively charged electrons embedded in it.

However,

Rutherford’s gold foil experiment proved that an atom consists of large empty space with positive charge concentrated only at the centre (nucleus) and negatively charged electrons revolve around the nucleus in various orbits.

iii. If Thomson’s plum-pudding model was correct, then in the gold foil experiment we would not expect to see any significant deflection of the α-particles, i.e., Most αparticles would pass through the foil with very small or no deflections.

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