Multiple choice

When alpha particles are used to bombard gold foil, most of the alpha particles pass through undeflected. This result indicates that most of the volume of a gold atom consists of _____________________.

  1. unoccupied space

  2. protons

  3. neutrons

  4. deuterons
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Rutherford gold foil experiment showed that most alpha particles passed through, leading to the conclusion that the atom is mostly empty space with a small, dense, positively charged nucleus.

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