Question

How did Rutherford's experiments demonstrate that Thomson's model of the atom was incorrect?

a. They showed that atoms have net positive charges.

b. They showed that atoms are made up of smaller particles.

c. They showed that electrons make up most of the mass of an atom.

d.They showed that atoms have a dense nucleus.

Answer 1

d) They showed that atoms have a dense nucleus.

Step-by-step explanation:

Thomson's model predicted that the atom is composed of negatively charged electrons, which is surrounded by positively charged cloud. This was called Plum pudding model of the atom.

But Rutherford proved it to be incorrect . His gold foil experiment showed that the atom's central part is heavy and positively charged. The deflections of the alpha particles showed that the heavy central region is surrounded by negatively charged particles called electrons.

Answer 2

Rutherford's Gold foil experiment involved the firing of atoms at a piece of gold foil only a few atoms thick. Rutherford expected that the particles would go straight through, but some were deflected. This experiment proved that atoms have a dense positively charged nucleus.

Answer: d. They showed that atoms have a dense nucleus.