question set 1
What is the name of Rutherford’s experiment?
the gold foil experiment
Who made this discovery?
Ernest Rutherford
what did people think the structure of an atom was similar to before Ernest's discovery (hint: food)
plum pudding / blueberry muffin
which university did ernest rutherford attend
Cambridge
what prize did Ernest win
Nobel prize
what's a nucleus called in latin
a little nut
How did Rutherford's experiment change our understanding of the structure of the atom?
That atoms are made up of mostly empty space, electrons surrounding something really dense in the center of the atom
What conclusion did Rutherford make based on the deflection of some of the alpha particles?
that there’s this small dense thing in the center of the atom
What did Rutherford observe when most of the alpha particles passed straight through the gold foil?
Atom consist of mostly empty space
What was the major difference between Rutherford's model of the atom and the earlier model by J.J. Thomson (plum pudding model)
Rutherford’s model states that electrons are surrounding a small dense ‘thing’ while J.J Thomson’s model states that electrons are randomly scattered in a positive charged ‘pudding
What did the results of Rutherford's experiment tell scientists about the nucleus of an atom?
very dense
Why did Rutherford use gold foil in his experiment?
very thin and malleable to allow alpha particles to pass through and interact with the atoms in the foil)
What was the main goal of Rutherford's gold foil experiment?
to investigate the structure of an atom and to test the idea J.J Thomson’s plum pudding model
What did Rutherford expect to happen when he fired alpha particles at the gold foil?
He expect it would pass through the foil with very little deflection, according to plum pudding model
Why were alpha particles used in Rutherford’s gold foil experiment?
because they are positively charged and relatively heavy so they could interact with the atom’s nucleus