Questions on Gold Foil Experiment
20 Multiple-Choice Questions: Gold Foil Experiment
1. Who conducted the Gold Foil Experiment?
A) J.J. Thomson
B) Niels Bohr
C) Ernest Rutherford
D) John Dalton
E) Robert Millikan
2. In what year was the Gold Foil Experiment performed?
A) 1803
B) 1897
C) 1905
D) 1909
E) 1913
3. Which particles were used in the Gold Foil Experiment?
A) Electrons
B) Neutrons
C) Alpha particles
D) Beta particles
E) Gamma rays
4. What was the main material used as a target in the Gold Foil Experiment?
A) Silver
B) Gold
C) Lead
D) Copper
E) Aluminum
5. What was the surprising result of the Gold Foil Experiment?
A) All alpha particles passed through without deflection
B) Electrons bounced back
C) Some alpha particles were deflected at large angles
D) No particles passed through
E) Alpha particles turned into neutrons
6. What conclusion did Rutherford make about the atom based on the experiment?
A) Atoms are solid spheres
B) Electrons are embedded in a positive mass
C) Most of the atom is empty space
D) Atoms are indivisible
E) Electrons are in energy levels
7. What part of the atom was discovered through the experiment?
A) Proton
B) Neutron
C) Electron
D) Nucleus
E) Atomic number
8. The Gold Foil Experiment disproved which earlier model?
A) Bohr Model
B) Rutherford Model
C) Quantum Model
D) Plum Pudding Model
E) Wave-Particle Model
9. What is the charge of the alpha particles used?
A) Negative
B) Positive
C) Neutral
D) Depends on the atom
E) Unknown
10. Most of the alpha particles:
A) Were absorbed by the gold foil
B) Deflected backwards
C) Went straight through the foil
D) Became electrons
E) Disintegrated
11. The deflection of some alpha particles suggested that:
A) Atoms contain only electrons
B) Atoms are completely solid
C) There is a small dense positive center
D) The atom is uniformly charged
E) Atoms are magnetic
12. What device was used to detect the deflected particles?
A) Electroscope
B) Gold screen
C) Photographic plate
D) Scintillation screen
E) Electron gun
13. The atom’s positive charge is concentrated in the:
A) Electrons
B) Shells
C) Nucleus
D) Orbitals
E) Gold foil
14. Alpha particles are the nuclei of:
A) Hydrogen
B) Helium
C) Lithium
D) Carbon
E) Oxygen
15. Why was gold used in the foil?
A) It's radioactive
B) It reflects light well
C) It's dense and can be made very thin
D) It reacts with alpha particles
E) It is magnetic
16. How thin was the gold foil used in the experiment?
A) Several millimeters
B) A few centimeters
C) About 1 cm
D) A few atoms thick
E) One meter
17. Which best describes the nucleus discovered in the experiment?
A) Large and positive
B) Small, dense, and positive
C) Negative and hollow
D) Soft and spread out
E) Made of electrons
18. How did this experiment change the atomic model?
A) It proved atoms are indivisible
B) It supported the Plum Pudding Model
C) It led to the nuclear model of the atom
D) It introduced quantum mechanics
E) It discovered isotopes
19. What fraction of particles were deflected at large angles?
A) About 10%
B) About 50%
C) Very few
D) All of them
E) None of them
20. Which scientist worked with Rutherford on this experiment?
A) Max Planck
B) James Chadwick
C) Hans Geiger
D) Werner Heisenberg
E) Louis de Broglie
Answers with Explanations
1. C – Ernest Rutherford conducted the Gold Foil Experiment.
2. D – It was performed in 1909.
3. C – Alpha particles (helium nuclei) were used.
4. B – A gold foil was used because it can be made extremely thin.
5. C – The surprising result: some alpha particles deflected at large angles.
6. C – Rutherford concluded that atoms are mostly empty space.
7. D – The nucleus was discovered.
8. D – The experiment disproved J.J. Thomson’s Plum Pudding Model.
9. B – Alpha particles have a +2 charge.
10. C – Most alpha particles passed straight through, indicating empty space.
11. C – Deflections showed a dense, positively charged center.
12. D – A scintillation screen detected alpha particle impacts.
13. C – Positive charge is concentrated in the nucleus.
14. B – Alpha particles are helium nuclei (2 protons, 2 neutrons).
15. C – Gold is dense and malleable, ideal for thin sheets.
16. D – The foil was only a few atoms thick.
17. B – The nucleus is small, dense, and positively charged.
18. C – The result led to the nuclear model of the atom.
19. C – Very few alpha particles were deflected; most passed through.
20. C – Hans Geiger was a collaborator with Rutherford.
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