Based on the article "Will the real atomic model please stand up?,” describe one major change that occurred in the development of the modern atomic model.

Answer 1

One major change in the development of the modern atomic model was the transition from the Plum Pudding Model proposed by J.J. Thomson to the Nuclear Model introduced by Ernest Rutherford. The Plum Pudding Model suggested that atoms were composed of a diffuse cloud of positive charge with negatively charged electrons embedded within it, much like plums in a pudding. However, Rutherford's experiments with gold foil demonstrated that atoms have a small, dense nucleus at their center, which contains positively charged protons, while the electrons orbit around this nucleus in a mostly empty space. This shift led to a more accurate understanding of atomic structure and laid the groundwork for subsequent models, including the Bohr Model and the Quantum Mechanical Model.