Question

What did Rutherford conclude from his gold foil experiment?

• A. Alpha particles are much smaller than gold atoms.
• B. Alpha-particles are doubly-charged helium ions.
• C. Radius of the nucleus is about 10⁵ times less than the radius of the atom.
• D. Most of the Alpha-particles passed through the gold foil.

Answer 1

The correct option is C

Radius of the nucleus is about 10⁵ times less than the radius of the atom.

Most of the space inside the atom is empty. Very few particles were deflected from their path by 180^o. From this data, he calculated that the radius of the nucleus is about 10⁵ times less than the radius of the atom.