Question

Describe Ernest Rutherford's experiment with gold foil and alpha particles. Explain how this experiment helped us understand the nature of atoms. (Points : 5)

Answer 1

Rutherford did the gold foil experiment in which he blasted a narrow beam of alpha particles onto the gold foil, one atom thin. He first suspected that all of the alpha particles would pass through the thin foil, yet he realized that some alpha particles were deflected back. Based on this observation he was able to tell that there must be a nucleus where all of the positively charge ions reside, thus resulting in the deflecting of the positively charge alpha particles. In short, Ernest Rutherford discovered the nucleus of the atom in 1911. This led us to discover many things about cells and how they work. Understanding cells helped us create cures and treatments for certain diseases.

Answer 2

Rutherford reform our thought on the shape of the atom. The alpha particle passing through the coil indicated that there are empty space (which we now know is the electron cloud) and there are a small spaces where the nucleus exist.

Top comment: understanding the composition of an atom helps create cure treatment is a bit of a stretch. Rutherford was a nuclear physicist...