Answer
Rutherford's gold foil experiment where he bombarded alpha particles on a thin sheet of gold foil showed that most of the particles just passed through the foil. Alpha particles are positively charged particles. Only a small percentage of the particles were deflected by positive charge (the protons in the nucleus).
Therefore, we must conclude the atom is made up mainly of empty space, with a small but massive region of concentrated charge at the center.
The charge on this central region is positive (atomic nucleus) while empty space consists of electrons, occupying most of the volume.
Work Step by Step
Rutherford's gold foil experiment where he bombarded alpha particles on a thin sheet of gold foil showed that most of the particles just passed through the foil. Alpha particles are positively charged particles. Only a small percentage of the particles were deflected by positive charge (the protons in the nucleus).
Therefore, we must conclude the atom is made up mainly of empty space, with a small but massive region of concentrated charge at the center.
The charge on this central region is positive (atomic nucleus) while empty space consists of electrons, occupying most of the volume.
