Question

Which of the following observations was not correct during Rutherford’s scattering experiment?

• A. Most of the $\alpha$-particles passed through the gold foil undeflected
• B. A small fraction of the $\alpha$-particles was deflected by small angles
• C. A large number of the $\alpha$-particles were bounced back
• D. A very few $\alpha$-particles ($\sim 1$ in $20,000$) were bounced back

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Very few of bombarded $\alpha$-particles on gold foil were deflected by sharp angles and therefore, it was concluded that the positive charge is concentrated in a very small volume of the atom called nucleus. Since few were deflected, the size of the nucleus is very small as compared with atom size.
Most of the particles passed through the foil undeflected and was concluded that most of the space in an atom is empty.