If you could ask Rutherford one question about his work, what would it be?
If I could ask Rutherford one question, I would ask: "How does the thickness of the gold foil affect the chances of an α-particle hitting the nucleus?"
In his experiment, Rutherford concluded that most of an atom is empty space, which is why most α-particles passed through the thin foil without deflection. However, since the nucleus is extremely small and dense, I wonder if using a thicker foil would increase the probability of an α-particle encountering a nucleus. Would a thicker foil cause more α-particles to bounce back sharply, or does the vast empty space within atoms make the foil's thickness irrelevant to the deflection rate?
Explanation
The textbook hint specifically prompts the student to compare thin foil vs thick foil and consider how thickness affects the chances of hitting a nucleus. Based on Rutherford's conclusions that atoms are mostly empty space and the nucleus is tiny, a thicker foil would present more layers of atoms, potentially increasing the probability of an alpha particle colliding with a nucleus and bouncing back. This question directly applies the concepts of empty space and nuclear size from the context to the experimental setup.