Question 50
Modern PhysicsIn the Rutherford scattering experiment, a beam of alpha particles was fired at a thin gold film with some of the particles being considerably deflected. This shows that
- A.a gold nucleus contains protons, neutrons and electrons uniformly distributed in a tiny volume
- B.the gold nucleus is positively charged and is concentrated in a tiny volume
- C.the gold nucleus emitted alpha particles
- D.the gold nucleus is concentrated in a tiny volume and contains alpha particles
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: B (the gold nucleus is positively charged and is concentrated in a tiny volume)
Explanation
Only a few alpha particles were strongly repelled, which shows the positive charge and most of the mass are packed into a very small nucleus.