In Rutherford’s gold foil experiment, why did a tiny fraction of alpha particles rebound back by 180 degrees?

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A Because the atom is completely solid throughout.
B Because electrons exert a massive repulsive force.
C Because the positive charge and mass are concentrated in a tiny central nucleus.
D Because alpha particles are highly attracted to gold atoms.

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Answer: C. Because the positive charge and mass are concentrated in a tiny central nucleus.

In Rutherford's alpha-particle scattering experiment, about 1 in 12,000 particles rebounded back. This showed that the positive charge and almost all the mass of the atom are concentrated in a very small, dense region called the nucleus.

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In Rutherford’s gold foil experiment, why did a tiny fraction of alpha particles rebound back by 180 degrees?

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