Question
A piece of gold foil was hit with alpha particles that mostly went right through the foil. This showed that the gold atoms are mostly empty space.
What is the physical property of gold that led Rutherford to select it for his experiment?
A
Gold is ductile.
B
Gold is unreactive.
C
Gold can be flattened.
D
Gold has a positive charge.
What is the physical property of gold that led Rutherford to select it for his experiment?
A
Gold is ductile.
B
Gold is unreactive.
C
Gold can be flattened.
D
Gold has a positive charge.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The physical property of gold that led Rutherford to select it for his experiment is:
**C. Gold can be flattened.**
Gold is highly malleable and can be easily flattened into very thin foils, which was essential for Rutherford's experiment to allow alpha particles to pass through and observe the scattering patterns.
**C. Gold can be flattened.**
Gold is highly malleable and can be easily flattened into very thin foils, which was essential for Rutherford's experiment to allow alpha particles to pass through and observe the scattering patterns.