Which of the following properties did Rutherford use in his experiment?
A. the negative charge of the alpha particles and the random distribution of protons
B. the negative charge of the alpha particles and the positive charge of the gold foil
C. the positive charge of the alpha particles and the negative charge of the electrons
D. the positive charge of the electrons in a uniform negative charge
well, since alphas are positive, and electrons are negative, I'd have to say (C).
To answer this question, we need to understand Rutherford's experiment and the properties he utilized. Rutherford conducted the gold foil experiment to investigate the structure of the atom. He fired alpha particles at a thin sheet of gold foil and observed how the particles scattered.
The correct answer is B. Rutherford used the negative charge of the alpha particles and the positive charge of the gold foil in his experiment. In the experiment, alpha particles, which are positively charged, were fired at the gold foil, which has a positive charge due to the presence of protons.
Rutherford expected the alpha particles to pass straight through the gold foil due to the prevailing theory at the time, known as the "plum pudding" model, which proposed that the positive charge and negative charge in an atom are evenly distributed. However, Rutherford discovered that some alpha particles were deflected at large angles or even reflected back, indicating that their path was being affected by concentrated positive charges in the gold foil.
This unexpected outcome led Rutherford to conclude that the positive charge of an atom is concentrated in a small, dense region, now known as the nucleus. This experiment provided evidence for the existence of a small, positively charged nucleus at the center of an atom, surrounded by negatively charged electrons.