RUTHER FORD ATOMIC MODEL
1. Why did Rutherford select a gold foil in his α–ray scattering experiment?
2. In response to a question, a student stated that in an atom, the number of
protons is greater than the number of neutrons, which in turn is greater
than the number of electrons. Do you agree with the statement? Justify
your answer.
3. Complete Table on the basis of information available in the symbols
given below
(a) 35 17 Cl (b) 12 6 C (c) 81 35 Br
Element np nn
4. The number of electrons in an element X is 15 and the number of neutrons
is 16. Which of the following is the correct representation of the element?
a) 31X15
b) 31X16
c) 16X15
d) 15X16
5. Identify the Mg2+ ion from the Fig.4.1 where, n and p represent the number
of neutrons and protons respectively.
6. Is it possible for the atom of an element to have one electron, one proton
and no neutron. If so, name the element.
7. Find out the valency of the atoms represented by the Fig. 4.3 (a) and (b).
8. What information do you get from the Fig, below about the atomic
number, mass number and valency of atoms X, Y and Z? Give your answer
in a tabular form.
7. Will 35Cl and 37Cl have different valencies? Justify your answer.
8. Helium atom has 2 electrons in its valence shell but its valency is not 2,
Explain
9. Write any two observations which support the fact that atoms are
divisible.
10. Assertion and Reasoning
Direction : in the following questions , a statement of assertion (A) is
followed by a statement of reason (R) . Mark the correct choice as :
a. Both assertion (A) and reason (R) are true and reason (R) is the correct
explanation of assertion (A)
b. Both assertion (A) and reason (R) are true but reason (R) is not the
correct explanation of assertion (A)
c. Assertion (A) is true but reason(R) is false
d. Assertion (A) is false but reason(R) is true
Q5. Assertion: calcium and argon are isobars .
. Reason : calcium and argon have the same mass numbers .
Q6. Assertion: the number of valence electrons in oxygen atoms is 6 .
Reason : the valency of oxygen atom is 6
Q7. Assertion: most of the alpha particles in Rutherfords experiment passed
straight through the gold foil
Reason : the centre of the atom is positively charged
(a) Rutherford’s α-particle scattering experiment led to the discovery of the
———
(b) Isotopes have same ———but different———.
(c) Neon and chlorine have atomic numbers 10 and 17, respectively. Their
valencies will be———and———respectively.
1. Show diagrammatically the electron distributions in a sodium atom and a
sodium ion and also give their atomic number.
1. In the Gold foil experiment of Geiger and Marsden, that paved the way for
Rutherford’s model of an atom, ~ 1.00% of the α-particles were found to
deflect at angles > 50º. If one mole of α-particles were bombarded on the
gold foil, compute the number of α-particles that would deflect at angles
less than 500.
1. Rutherford’s ‘alpha (α) particles scattering experiment’ resulted in to
discovery of
(a) Electron
(b) Proton
(c) Nucleus in the atom
(d) Atomic mass
2. Which of the following statements about Rutherford’s model of atom are
correct?
(i) considered the nucleus as positively charged
(ii) established that the α–particles are four times as heavy as a hydrogen
atom
(iii) can be compared to solar system
(iv) was in agreement with Thomson’s model
(a) (i) and (iii)
(b) (ii) and (iii)
(c) (i) and (iv)
(d) only (i)
3. Rutherford’s α–particle scattering experiment showed that
(i) electrons have a negative charge
(ii) the mass and positive charge of the atom is concentrated in the nucleus
(iii) neutron exists in the nucleus
(iv) most of the space in the atom is empty Which of the above statements
are correct?
(a) (i) and (iii)
(b) (ii) and (iv)
(c) (i) and (iv)
(d) (iii) and (iv
4. Which of the following are true for an element?
(i) Atomic number = number of protons + number of electrons
(ii) Mass number = number of protons + number of neutrons
(iii) Atomic mass = number of protons = number of neutrons
(iv) Atomic number = number of protons = number of electrons
(a) (i) and (ii)
(b) (i) and (iii)
(c) (ii) and (iii)
(d) (ii) and (iv)
Which of the following statement is always correct?
(a) An atom has equal number of electrons and protons.
(b) An atom has equal number of electrons and neutrons.
(c) An atom has equal number of protons and neutrons.
(d) An atom has equal number of electrons, protons and neutrons.
The ion of an element has 3 positive charges. Mass number of the atom is 27
and the number of neutrons is 14. What is the number of electrons in the
ion?
(a) 13
(b) 10
(c) 14
(d) 16
Key Differences: Rutherford vs Bohr
Feature Rutherford Model Bohr Model
Orbit Electrons revolve in arbitrary Electrons revolve in fixed, quantized
orbits. orbits.
Stability Cannot explain atomic stability. Explains stability.
Energy Energy radiated continuously. Energy is not radiated while in orbit.
1. What is a stationary state?
2. What is the ground state?
3. Can the electron occupy any space between the orbits?
4. Bohr’s model can be applied for
A. Hydrogen
B. Helium
C. Boron
D. None of the above
5. The approximate radius of 1st Bohr’s orbit of hydrogen atom is
A. 1 Å
B. 0.229 Å
C. 0.345 Å
D. 0.529 Å
Q1. Why Bohr’s atomic model is only valid for hydrogen or hydrogen-like species?
Answer: Bohr’s atomic model is only valid for hydrogen or hydrogen-like species because only
Coulombic interactions between one proton and one electron are considered in Bohr's model for a
hydrogen atom. It cannot be extended to include other atomic species with more than one electron.
Because, in this case, the interactions between electrons of the same species occur in addition to
the interactions between the nucleus and the electron. Bohr was unable to solve this problem, which
is now successfully explained by later developed quantum mechanics. However, Bohr's model can
be successfully applied to hydrogen-like species such as He+, Li2+ and so on. Therefore it applies
only to single electron species.
Q2. Are all postulates of Bohr’s atomic model correct according to the advancements in scientific
research?
Answer: No, the concept of a fixed path (orbit) is not valid after future research. Bohr’s orbit does
not follow Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.
Q3. Why doesn’t a flawless model for atomic structure exist?
Answer: Since the atoms are too small to even view through a microscope, no one can tell what the
shape of an atom is. The theories and models of atoms mentioned have been proposed after years
of research and are true to date.
Q4. How does Bohr’s atomic model explain the stability of an atom?
Answer:According to Bohr’s atomic model, electrons revolve in a fixed path known as the orbit with
a particular amount of energy. The value of energy does not change until and unless it absorbs or
emits energy. This model also explains the stability of atoms as an electron cannot lose more
energy than it has in the smallest orbit, n = 1. The model also explains the Balmer formula for
hydrogen spectral lines.