Answer to Question #236134 in General Chemistry for maria

Question

What fraction of the α particles in Rutherford's gold foil experiment are scattered at large angles? Assume the gold foil is two layers thick, as shown in the figure, and that the approximate diameters of a gold atom and its nucleus are 2.7 Å and 1.5×10^-4 Å. Express your answer to two significant figures.

Answer 1

So, 2 a-particles in every total 108 particles would scatter at large angles. Or, fraction of a-particles scattered at large angles = $\frac {2}{10^8}$