Question

Which statements accurately describe Ernest Rutherford’s experiment? Check all that apply.

The positively charged particles were deflected because like charges repel.
The positively charged particles were deflected because opposite charges attract.
The positively charged particles were deflected by the electron.
The positively charged particles were deflected by the proton.
The positively charged particles were deflected because the positive charge in the atom was concentrated.
The positively charged particles were deflected because the positive charge in the atom was scattered throughout the atom.

Answer 1

Correct choices:
- The positively charged particles were deflected because like charges repel.
- The positively charged particles were deflected by the proton. (more generally: by the atom’s positive nucleus)
- The positively charged particles were deflected because the positive charge in the atom was concentrated.

Why: Rutherford’s alpha‑scattering experiment showed most alpha particles passed through gold foil but some were strongly deflected by a very small, dense, positively charged nucleus. The deflections were caused by Coulomb repulsion between the positive alpha particles and the positive nucleus (protons), not by attraction to electrons or by a positive charge spread throughout the atom.