Question

Rutherford's experiment was important because it showed that ___________.

a. Radioactive elements give off α particles
b. Foil can be made to be only a few atoms thick
c. A zinc sulfide screen scintillates when struck by a charged mass
d. The mass of the atom is uniformly distributed throughout

Answer 1

Rutherford's experiment showed that alpha particles can be deflected when they collide with a small, dense, positively charged nucleus at the centre of an atom. This experiment disproved the plum pudding model of the atom and provided direct evidence for the existence of a small, massive nucleus.

Step-by-step explanation:

Rutherford's experiment was important because it showed that alpha particles can be deflected when they collide with a small, dense, positively charged nucleus at the centre of an atom. Rutherford bombarded a thin sheet of gold foil with alpha particles and observed that a small percentage of particles were deflected at large angles, which indicated the presence of a concentrated positive charge in the nucleus. This experiment disproved the plum pudding model of the atom and provided direct evidence for the existence of a small, massive nucleus.