Chapter 17, Problem 18A

To determine

To explain: The way of comparing the size of an atomic nucleus with the size of the whole atom.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

The atom is composed of positively charged nucleus surrounded by a negatively charged electrons. These electrons are revolving round the nucleus in regular orbits. Nucleus of an atom comprises of the protons and neutrons. The number of electrons present in an atom is equal to the number of protons in that atom.

The gold foil experiment concluded that the size of an atomic nucleus is very small compared to the size of the whole atom. The size of the nucleus of an atom is quantifying in $\text{fm}\left({10}^{-15}\text{ m}\right)$ and that of atom is measuring in angstroms $\left({10}^{-10}\text{ m}\right)$ . That means the size of the nucleus of an atom is ${10}^5$ times smaller than the size of the whole atom.