Question

On the basis of Rutherford's model of an atom, which subatomic particle is present in the nucleus of an atom?

Answer 1

Rutherford's Gold foil experiment:

• Rutherford bombarded α-particles on a gold sheet, which helped him to discover the presence of positively charged specie inside the atom..
• The gold foil was only 0.00004 centimeters thick, meaning a few hundreds of atoms thick.
• During the experiment, he observed that most alpha particles were observed to pass straight through the gold foil.
• A few were scattered at large angles and some even bounced back towards the source.

Rutherford's atom model:

• The positive charge and most of the mass of an atom is concentrated in a very small volume called the nucleus.
• He found that the negatively charged electrons surround the nucleus of an atom.
• The electrons revolve around the nucleus at a very high speed in circular paths, called orbits.
• Since electrons are negatively charged and the nucleus is densely concentrated, the mass of positively charged particles is held together by a very strong electrostatic force of attraction.

Therefore, the subatomic particle which is present in the nucleus of an atom as per Rutherford’s model of an atom is Proton, a positively charged particle.