HSC Physics Rutherford's Nuclear Atom

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A tutorial sheet of miscellaneous questions on Rutherford’s nuclear model is given below.

  1. What is a spinthariscope?
  2. At which university was Rutherford a professor when his model was proposed (1911)?
  3. Why were alpha particles used in the famous experiment?
  4. Why was a gold foil used?
  5. Do the alpha particles hit the gold atoms in the foil?
  6. Where are the electrons in Rutherford's model of the atom and what are they doing?
  7. Did most of the alpha particles pass through the gold foil with small amounts of scattering? Give a reason.
  8. Some alpha particles were scattered through angles greater than 90°. Give the approximate number and give a reason for this.
  9. In an alpha particle scattering experiment the speed of the alpha particles is doubled. Will the number of scattered alpha particles at a particular angle increase, decrease or stay the same?
  10. In an alpha particle scattering experiment the thickness of the foil is doubled. Will the number of scattered alpha particles at a particular angle increase, decrease or stay the same?
  11. An alpha particle scattering experiment is repeated with a pure thin metal sheet of double the atomic number of the first case. Will the number of scattered alpha particles at a particular angle increase, decrease or stay the same?
  12. Draw the famous diagram showing the scattering of an alpha particle by a positively charged gold nucleus. (Many people draw this diagram incorrectly, be careful).
  13. In question 12 draw the diagram for a negatively charged particle fired at a gold nucleus. Is the path of a negatively charged particle, fired with the same initial kinetic energy, the same as that of a positively charged particle of the same magnitude?
  14. Is the scattering of alpha particles proof that the nucleus is positively charged?
  15. Rutherford's scattering equation was deduced using classical physics and then later quantum mechanics, an example of classical physics principles giving the correct result for an atomic process. State this equation and find out who derived it for Rutherford. Use the equation to sketch the graph of s(𝜽), where 𝜽 is the angle through which an alpha particle is deflected.
  16. How did Geiger determine the number of alpha particles scattered through each angle?