Question

rutherford and gold foil
j.j. thomson made an important discovery about the electron, but there were still many things about the
atom left to figure out. like all scientists, he worked with many people who helped him learn more about
what interested him. one of those people was his student, ernest rutherford. ernest rutherford and two
other scientists, hans geiger and ernest marsden, designed an experiment to determine where electrons
were located in the atom. they used gold foil, or a very thin sheet of pure gold, and a beam of positive
particles. by this time, they could precisely aim the positive particle beam at the areas inside an atom. the
scientists recorded what happened when positive particle beams were aimed at different areas of each atom
to learn more about the structure inside the atom. some of the results of their experiment are summarized in
the table below.
using the information from this experiment, scientists determined that thomsons model was not very
accurate, so they revised it. the data identified a second atomic particle that is positively charged and located
in the center, or nucleus, of an atom. scientists called the particles inside the nucleus protons. they also
learned that most of the atom is empty space, and electrons move around in that space. later, scientists
learned that there is a neutral particle in the nucleus as well.
that particle is called the neutron, and it is similar in size to
the proton. the diagram to the right shows rutherfords
model and the later revised model that added neutrons.
write the main ideas in your own words.

Explanation:

The text describes Rutherford's gold - foil experiment. Positive particles were directed at gold foil. Most passed through (suggesting most of the atom is empty). Some were deflected, indicating a dense positive nucleus (protons). Later, neutrons (neutral particles in the nucleus) were discovered. Thomson's model was revised based on these findings.

Answer:

Rutherford's gold - foil experiment: Positive particles shot at gold foil. Most passed (atom mostly empty). Some deflected (nucleus with positive charge - protons). Later, neutrons (neutral in nucleus) found. Revised Thomson's model.