In Rutherford's famous gold foil scatterig experiment he found that most alpha particles would pass throught the foil undeflected. Which of the following nuclear properties can be inferred from this obsevation?

Options

A. Most of the space inside the atom is void
B. Most of the mass of an atom is in the nucleus
C. The nucleus contains both protons and neutrons
D. The diameter of the nucleus is small compared to the diameter of the atom.

Answer

To solve the question regarding Rutherford's gold foil scattering experiment and the properties of the nucleus that can be inferred from it, we can follow these steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understanding the Experiment**:
- Rutherford directed alpha particles at a thin gold foil. He expected that the alpha particles would be deflected due to the positive charge spread throughout the atom (as per Thomson's model).

2. **Observation of Alpha Particle Behavior**:
- Most of the alpha particles passed through the foil undeflected, with only a small fraction being deflected at large angles. This indicated that the majority of the atom is not dense.

3. **Inference About Atomic Structure**:
- Since most alpha particles passed through without deflection, it can be inferred that most of the space within the atom is empty. This suggests that the positive charge and mass are concentrated in a very small region (the nucleus).

4. **Conclusion About Nuclear Properties**:
- The main conclusion drawn from this observation is that "most of the space inside the atom is void." This means that the atom consists mostly of empty space, with a small, dense nucleus at its center.

5. **Other Properties**:
- Although Rutherford's experiment also led to the understanding that the nucleus contains protons and neutrons and that the nucleus is small compared to the overall size of the atom, these specific details were not directly inferred from the observation of undeflected alpha particles.

### Final Answer:
From Rutherford's gold foil experiment, we can infer that **most of the space inside the atom is void**.

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