Multiple Choice
When Ernest Rutherford directed a beam of alpha particles at a thin sheet of gold foil, what did he expect would happen to the majority of the particles?
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2. Atoms & Elements
Rutherford Gold Foil Experiment
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Join thousands of students who trust us to help them ace their exams!Watch the first videoMultiple Choice
Which scientist developed the nuclear model of the atom based on the results of the gold foil experiment?
A
Ernest Rutherford
B
Marie Curie
C
J.J. Thomson
D
Niels Bohr
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand the context of the question: it asks which scientist developed the nuclear model of the atom based on the gold foil experiment.
Recall the gold foil experiment, which involved firing alpha particles at a thin sheet of gold foil and observing their scattering patterns.
Recognize that the gold foil experiment demonstrated that atoms have a small, dense, positively charged nucleus, as most alpha particles passed through but some were deflected at large angles.
Identify the scientist who conducted this experiment and proposed the nuclear model of the atom: Ernest Rutherford.
Note that other scientists mentioned (Marie Curie, J.J. Thomson, Niels Bohr) contributed to atomic theory in different ways, but the nuclear model specifically comes from Rutherford's work.
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