Question

What conclusions were made from the observations of Gold foil experiment? [3 Marks]​

Answer 1

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

ii)Very few particles were deflected from their path, indicating that the positive charge of the atom occupies very little space.​
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iii) A very small fraction of α-particles were deflected by ${180}^o$ ,indicating that all the positive charge and mass of the gold atom were concentrated in a very small volume within the atom.​