Rutherford bombarded gold foil with alpha (a) particles and found that a small percentage of the particles were deflected. Which of the following was not accounted for by the model he proposed for the structure of atoms?
A) the small size of the nucleus
B) the charge on the nucleus
C) the total mass of the atom
D) the existence of protons
E) the presence of electrons outside the nucleus

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Rutherford's model did not specifically account for the total mass of the atom, as he believed that most of the mass was concentrated in the nucleus. However, later studies showed that the majority of an atom's mass is actually in the form of protons and neutrons in the nucleus, while electrons have very small mass.

Rutherford Bombarded Gold Foil with Alpha (A) Particles and Found