What was deduced or observed in the Rutherford scattering experiment?
A - AQA - A-Level Physics - Question 25 - 2022 - Paper 2
Question 25
What was deduced or observed in the Rutherford scattering experiment?
A. All gold atoms are not alike.
B. Alpha particles are helium nuclei.
C. Some particles wer... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:What was deduced or observed in the Rutherford scattering experiment?
A - AQA - A-Level Physics - Question 25 - 2022 - Paper 2
Step 1
A. All gold atoms are not alike.
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Answer
This statement is incorrect. The Rutherford scattering experiment did not focus on the differences between gold atoms but rather on the structure of the atom itself.
Step 2
B. Alpha particles are helium nuclei.
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While alpha particles are indeed helium nuclei, this was not the main observation deduced from the Rutherford scattering experiment. The experiment helped in understanding atomic structure rather than specifying what alpha particles are.
Step 3
C. Some particles were deflected through angles greater than 90°.
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This statement is correct. The Rutherford experiment showed that a small fraction of alpha particles were deflected at very large angles — some even greater than 90°. This indicated that a dense, positively charged nucleus exists within the atom.
Step 4
D. The motion of most alpha particles was reversed.
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This statement is misleading. While some alpha particles experienced significant deflections, the majority continued in their path and were not reversed. Hence, this option is not supported by the findings.
