Question

Suppose Rutherford's lab was 10 meters (m) long and the speed of an alpha particle is 3.0x10^8 meters per second (m/s). How much time would he plan on the alpha particles taking to move from the alpha particle source to the gold foil target? Write it in a mathematical equation

Answer 1

The time taken for an alpha particle to cover the distance of 10 meters at the speed of 3.0x10^8 m/s is calculated using the formula time = distance / speed, resulting in approximately 3.33x10^-8 seconds.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the time it would take for an alpha particle to move from the source to the gold foil target in Rutherford's experiment, we can use the basic formula for time, which is time = distance / speed. Here, the distance is 10 meters and the speed of an alpha particle is given as 3.0x10^8 meters per second. Thus, the calculation is as follows:

Time = 10 m / (3.0x10^8 m/s)

The time taken for an alpha particle to cover a distance of 10 meters at a speed of 3.0x10^8 m/s is approximately 3.33x10^-8 seconds.

Answer 2

t = d/v , 33.3 ns

Step-by-step explanation:

Since distance, d = vt where v = speed and t = time taken to cover the distance.

Since the distance, d covered by the alpha particle is the length of Rutherford's lab which is 10 m long and the speed of the alpha particle is v = 3 × 10⁸ m/s, the time, t it takes the alpha particle to move from the alpha particle source to the gold foil target is thus

t = d/v

= 10 m/3 × 10⁸ m/s

= 10/3 × 10⁻⁸ s

= 3.33 × 10⁻⁸ s

= 33.3 × 10⁻⁹ s

= 33.3 ns