What did Rutherford's famous scattering experiment help to prove ...

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What did Rutherford's famous scattering experiment help to prove in his day?
  A. The nucleus of an atom is positively charged.
  B. The nucleus of an atom takes up a large portion of the space in an atom.
  C. The scattering with the gold foil could either be due to a single interaction with a nucleus or multiple interactions with electrons.
  D. Alpha particles are neutral and massive.
  E. Thomson's model was essentially correct.

Question 2

How did Thomson measure the charge to mass ratio of the electron?
 

A. He shot helium nuclei into gold foil to measure the nuclei scattering against electrons within.
  B. He passed cathode rays through a magnetic field and measured the deflection.
  C. He suspended a drop of oil between electrodes to measure the electric field from the electrons.
  D. He measured very precisely a known quantity of hydrogen atoms and calculated the reduced mass ratio within each atom.

[irishcancer18]

Answer to Question 1

The nucleus of an atom is positively charged, Rutherford said, because the ionized helium atoms (alpha particles, which he proved were ionized helium) were scattered off of the target nuclei. They must be the same charge, which Rutherford decided as positive.

Answer to Question 2

B.
Since cathode rays are electrons, knowing the speed of the electrons going in, the deflection within a specified range in a magnetic field, and the final position of the particle hitting a fluorescent screen allows calculation of the q/m ratio for the electron.

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Gracias!

[emsimon14]

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