Rutherford’s gold foil experiment and results are given in the following figure. (Rutherford’s Gold Foil Experiment: Rutherford directed alpha particles at a thin sheet of gold foil. Most of the particles passed through the foil, but a small fraction was deflected, and a few even bounced backward.) (Figure 2.6, page 51: Tro P3e). Which of the following statements best explains the experimental results? Most of the atom’s mass and all of its positive charge are contained in a small core. Most of the atom’s mass and all of its negative charge are contained in a small core. Positively and negatively charged particles are uniformly distributed in the atom. All of the atom’s mass and all of its positive and negative charges are contained in a small core.
