A scientist fires 1 000 000 alpha particles at a thin sheet of gold foil.
The table shows the results.
| Path of the alpha particles | Number of alpha particles |
|---|---|
| Passed straight through or deflected by a very small angle | 999 000 |
| Deflected through a large angle | 980 |
| Bounced back towards the source | 20 |
Which conclusion is best supported by these results?
The nucleus takes up a very small part of the volume of each atom.
About one gold atom in every thousand contains a nucleus at its centre.
The positive charge is spread evenly throughout the whole of each atom.
The nucleus is negatively charged, so it repels the alpha particles.
101 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Chemistry 1.2 Atomic structure, covering 1.2.1 Development of the atomic model, 1.2.2 The nuclear model and the size of atoms, and 1.2.3 Subatomic particles in atoms and ions. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.