Which incorrect aspect of Rutherford's model was fixed by Bohr's model? (1 point)
• Atoms have small, dense, positively charged nuclei.
• The nucleus contains most of the mass of an atom.
• Electrons move freely in curved paths around the nucleus.
• Positively charged nuclei repel positively charged alpha particles.
• Electrons move freely in curved paths around the nucleus.
The incorrect aspect of Rutherford's model that was fixed by Bohr's model is that "Electrons move freely in curved paths around the nucleus."
The incorrect aspect of Rutherford's model that was fixed by Bohr's model is: "Electrons move freely in curved paths around the nucleus."
To understand why this aspect was incorrect and how Bohr addressed it, let's first look at Rutherford's model. In Rutherford's model, atoms are mostly empty space, and the positive charge and most of the mass of an atom are concentrated in a small, dense nucleus located at the center. Negatively charged electrons are thought to move freely in circular orbits around the nucleus, similar to planets orbiting the sun.
However, according to classical physics, a charged particle moving in a curved path should continuously emit energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. As a result, the electrons in Rutherford's model would lose energy over time, causing them to spiral inward toward the nucleus. This would ultimately result in the collapse of the atom, which is clearly not observed in reality.
Bohr's model of the atom, also known as the Bohr-Rutherford model, addressed this issue by incorporating the concept of quantization. Based on Planck's discovery that energy is quantized, Bohr proposed that electrons can only occupy discrete, specific energy levels or shells within an atom. In this model, electrons can orbit the nucleus only in those energy levels that corresponds to specific distances from the nucleus.
Bohr also introduced the idea that electrons can transition between energy levels by absorbing or emitting energy in discrete amounts or packets called quanta. These energy transitions correspond to the emission or absorption of specific wavelengths of light, as observed in atomic spectra. This explanation successfully accounted for the stability of atoms.
Overall, Bohr's model fixed the incorrect aspect of Rutherford's model by introducing the concept of quantized energy levels and explaining the stability of atoms by restricting electron movements to specific energy levels rather than allowing free movement in curved paths around the nucleus.