What did the gold foil experiment discover?
Understand the Problem
The question is asking about the results and significance of the gold foil experiment, which was a key experiment in understanding atomic structure. It sought to uncover what the experiment revealed about the arrangement of atoms and their nuclei.
Answer
The atom is mostly empty space with a dense, positively-charged nucleus.
The final answer is that the gold foil experiment discovered that the atom is mostly empty space with a tiny, dense, positively-charged nucleus.
Answer for screen readers
The final answer is that the gold foil experiment discovered that the atom is mostly empty space with a tiny, dense, positively-charged nucleus.
More Information
Rutherford's gold foil experiment, conducted in 1909, was a groundbreaking experiment that contributed significantly to the modern atomic model. It disproved J.J. Thomson's plum pudding model of the atom and led to Rutherford's proposal of the nuclear model.
Tips
A common mistake is to not emphasize the high degree of empty space in the atom and to misunderstand the significance of the deflections observed in the experiment.
Sources
- Discovery of the Electron and Nucleus - khanacademy.org
- What is the Rutherford gold-foil experiment? - Britannica - britannica.com
- What did Rutherford's gold-foil experiment tell about the atom? - socratic.org
