If you toss a tennis ball at a brick wall, what will happen? [

2] If you toss a tennis ball at something that looks like a solid wall, but it is actually smoke, what will happen?

3] According to Dalton’s model, the atom is a solid sphere. What would the alpha particles do when they hit the gold foil if Dalton were correct?

4] According to Thomson, the atom is a positively charged cloud with electrons scattered throughout. What would the alpha particles do when they hit the foil if Thomson were correct? Chem

[5] When Rutherford performed his experiment, only 1 in 20,000 alpha particles bounced straight back or were deflected greatly. The rest went straight through the gold foil. a. What does this indicate about the probability of actually hitting anything?

b. What does this indicate about the size of whatever has been hit compared to the size of the gold atoms in the foil?

c. Is the atom mostly solid or mostly space? How do you know?

d. Considering the fact that alpha particles are positively charged, what must the charge be on whatever deflected them?

e. Based on this evidence, what is in an atom’s center?

f. Where might the negatively charged electrons be located?

g. If the electrons and protons (the positively charged particles) are not near each other in the atom, why doesn’t their attraction pull them together? [HINT: Why doesn’t the Earth get pulled into the sun?]

[6] Based on the evidence and on your understanding of the earlier questions, propose a model of the atom.