Question

6. Why did Rutherford select a gold foil for his
a-ray scattering experiment?​

Answer 1

Answer:

Rutherford's model of an atom :

Rutherford designed an experiment for this. In this experiment, fast moving alpha (α)-particles were made to fall on a thin gold foil. He selected a gold foil because he wanted as thin a layer as possible. This gold foil was about 1000 atoms thick.

Answer 2

Answer:

Rutherford used gold for his scattering experiment  because gold is the most malleable metal and  he wanted the thinnest layer possible. The  gold sheet used was around 1000 atoms thick.  Therefore, Rutherford selected a gold foil in his  alpha scattering experiment.