Rutherford's gold foil experiment determined that:

• A. the atom has a small, dense, positively charged nucleus
• B. protons and neutrons are located in fixed orbits around the nucleus
• C. electrons are distributed evenly throughout the atom
• D. atoms are indivisible and cannot be broken down further

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the historical context of Rutherford's gold foil experiment, which was designed to probe the structure of the atom by observing how alpha particles scatter when directed at a thin gold foil.
2. Recall that before Rutherford's experiment, the prevailing model was the 'plum pudding model,' which suggested that electrons were distributed evenly throughout a positively charged 'soup.'
3. Analyze the key observation from the experiment: most alpha particles passed straight through the foil, but a small fraction were deflected at large angles, indicating the presence of a small, dense, positively charged center within the atom.
4. Conclude that this led to the nuclear model of the atom, where the atom consists of a tiny, dense nucleus containing positive charge (later understood as protons and neutrons), with electrons orbiting around it.
5. Recognize that this experiment disproved the ideas that electrons are evenly distributed throughout the atom and that atoms are indivisible, as it showed a complex internal structure with a nucleus.