Question 9 of 42intermediate🔧 ApplyShort Answer2 marks

What if an atom had no empty space? How would this have affected the size of various objects?

Correct Answer

If an atom had no empty space, its size would reduce drastically to the size of its nucleus. Rutherford's model concluded that most of an atom is empty space, and the nucleus is extremely small—about 10510^5 (one lakh) times smaller than the atom.

Without this empty space, the atoms that make up matter would become one lakh times smaller. Consequently, the size of various objects made of these atoms would also decrease drastically. For example, an object the size of a cricket ground would shrink to the size of a tiny black pepper grain.

Exercise: What if... | Q: 1 | (Page 8)
For More Understanding

Explanation

The textbook context highlights Rutherford's conclusion from the gold foil experiment that most of an atom is empty space, with the nucleus being approximately 10510^{5} (one lakh) times smaller in diameter than the atom. The question prompts students to apply this fact hypothetically. If the empty space were removed, the atom's size would collapse to the size of the nucleus, making objects one lakh times smaller, just as a cricket ground-sized atom collapses to a pepper grain-sized nucleus.

Solution Steps

  1. Step 1: Identify from Rutherford's model that most of an atom is empty space and the nucleus is extremely small.

  2. Step 2: Note the size ratio: the nucleus is about 10510^{5} (one lakh) times smaller than the atom.

  3. Step 3: Conclude that removing the empty space would shrink the atom to the size of its nucleus, thereby reducing the size of all objects by a factor of one lakh.

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