Question

What would have happened if Rutherford had placed the screen to detect where the particles went after hitting the gold foil only where he had expected them to go? How might Rutherford's conclusions have changed?

a) He would have confirmed the existing atomic model
b) He would not have discovered the atomic nucleus
c) He would have observed no change in particle behavior
d) Rutherford's conclusions would not have changed

Answer 1

If Rutherford had placed the screen where he expected the particles to go, he would have observed no change in particle behavior. Rutherford's actual observations led him to conclude that the positive charge is concentrated in the nucleus of the atom.

Step-by-step explanation:

If Rutherford had placed the screen to detect where the particles went after hitting the gold foil only where he had expected them to go, he would have observed no change in particle behavior (option c). In his actual experiment, Rutherford observed that a small fraction of the alpha particles were deflected at large angles and some were reflected directly back at the source. These observations led him to conclude that the positive charge in the atom is concentrated in a small region called the nucleus.