Question

We know that the Rutherford model of the atom is superior to the Thompson model because when alpha particles are scattered from atoms:

Answer 1

Rutherford model of atom:

1. Rutherford proposed the atomic structure of elements.
2. Rutherford model is based on alpha scattering experiment.
3. It is observed that a major fraction of the $\alpha$ particles bombarded towards the gold sheet passed through the sheet without any deflection.
4. Some of the $\alpha$ particles were deflected by the gold sheet by very small angles, and hence the positive charge in an atom is not uniformly distributed.
5. Very few of the $\alpha$ particles were deflected back.

Thompson atomic model:

1. This model is based on plum pudding atomic theory.
2. The positively charged particles are uniformly distributed with electrons.
3. The electrons arranged in such a way that the atom is electrostatically stable.
4. Rutherford's gold foil experiment of $\alpha$ particle scattering shows that most of the space inside an atom is empty which contradicts Thompson's model.

The Rutherford model is superior to Thompson model when alpha particles scattered from atoms because:

1. Some alpha particles are deflected to large angle
2. This concludes that the whole of positive charge and nearly whole mass of the atom were concentrated in a small nucleus.