In the Geiger--Marsden--Rutherford experiment, alpha particles were directed at a thin gold foil. The observation that most directly required the Thomson model to be replaced was that
most alpha particles passed through the foil without noticeable deflection.
a very small number of alpha particles were scattered through angles greater than .
the alpha particles produced flashes on a fluorescent screen.
the alpha particles travelled through the apparatus in a vacuum.
A nucleus is represented by the notation . The number of neutrons in this nucleus is
A low-pressure gas emits light that, when viewed through a spectrometer, appears as bright lines at particular wavelengths on a dark background. The conclusion supported by this observation is that atoms of the gas
emit photons whose energies are independent of atomic structure.
can have only certain allowed internal energies.
contain electrons with a continuous range of orbital radii.
absorb all wavelengths more strongly than they emit light.
An atom in a lower energy level absorbs a photon and moves to a higher energy level. The condition for this absorption to occur is that the photon energy must
equal the energy difference between the two allowed levels.
have the same wavelength as every photon emitted by the atom.
be less than the energy difference between the two levels.
be greater than the energy of the lower level by any amount.
Light from a star is analysed and several absorption lines are found to have the same pattern of separations as the laboratory spectrum of element . The valid inference is that
the atoms of element have continuous energy levels in the star.
the absorption lines are produced by the nucleus changing energy level.
the star contains only element and no other elements.
element is present in the outer layers of the star.
The radius of a nucleus is modelled by . The ratio of the radius of a nucleus with to that of a nucleus with is
At sufficiently high incident kinetic energies, alpha-particle scattering from a nucleus deviates from the Rutherford prediction. The reason for this deviation is that the alpha particles
approach close enough for the strong nuclear interaction to become significant.
move too slowly for the electric force to act on them.
lose all their positive charge before reaching the nucleus.
are attracted by the electrons with a force larger than the nuclear force.
A neutral atom is represented by the nuclear notation .
Determine the number of protons in the nucleus.
Determine the number of neutrons in the nucleus.
State the number of electrons in the neutral atom.
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An atom emits a photon when its energy decreases by . The frequency of the photon is approximately
For nuclei obeying , the approximate nuclear density is independent of because
volume is proportional to and mass is constant.
mass is proportional to and volume is proportional to .
radius and mass are both independent of .
mass and volume are both proportional to .
In a head-on alpha-particle scattering experiment, the distance of closest approach is for a target nucleus of proton number and alpha-particle kinetic energy . For a target nucleus with proton number and alpha-particle kinetic energy , the distance of closest approach is
In the Bohr model of hydrogen, . The energy of a photon emitted in a transition from to is
Alpha particles are directed at a thin gold foil in a vacuum. A surrounding fluorescent screen detects the alpha particles after they pass near or through the foil.

State one observation from the experiment that was inconsistent with Thomson's model of the atom.
Explain how the observations led Rutherford to propose a nuclear model of the atom.
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The visible spectrum from a hot, low-pressure gas contains bright lines at particular wavelengths on a dark background.

State the name given to this type of spectrum.
Explain why this spectrum provides evidence for discrete atomic energy levels.
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A sample in a flame produces emission lines at , and . Laboratory reference lines include hydrogen at and , sodium at , and calcium at and .

Identify the elements present in the sample.
Explain why a line spectrum can be used to identify chemical composition.
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White light passes through a cool, low-pressure gas and then into a spectrometer. Dark lines are observed in the otherwise continuous spectrum.

State what happens to atoms in the gas when photons corresponding to the dark lines pass through it.
Explain why the dark lines remain visible even though the atoms may later emit photons of the same energy.
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Rutherford scattering predictions agree with observations for alpha particles of relatively low kinetic energy, but deviations are observed when the incident alpha-particle energy is increased sufficiently.

State the assumption about the interaction between the alpha particle and the target nucleus in Rutherford scattering at low energies.
Explain why deviations from Rutherford scattering occur at high incident energies.
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For hydrogen, the Bohr energy levels are given by .
Calculate the minimum energy required to ionize a hydrogen atom initially in the state.
Explain the significance of the negative value of .
State one limitation of the Bohr model of the atom.
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Alpha particles were directed at a very thin gold foil. A detector counted scintillations at different angles from the original alpha-particle direction.

Describe the main trend shown by the count-rate data.
State what the detection of alpha particles at angles greater than shows about the force acting on these alpha particles.
Explain how these observations led to the nuclear model of the atom rather than Thomson's model.
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A mass spectrometer separates neutral atoms of a sample into three isotope peaks. The chemical symbol is supplied for the element.
| Atom | Mass number A | Proton number Z | Relative abundance / % |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | 63 | 29 | 69.0 |
| Q | 65 | 29 | 30.0 |
| R | 64 | 30 | 1.0 |
Determine the neutron number of isotope P, written as .
Identify the two atoms in the table that are isotopes of the same element.
For neutral isotope Q, written as , state the number of electrons and explain your answer.
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A narrow beam containing photons of several frequencies passes through a cool low-pressure gas. The spectrum is recorded in the original beam direction and also at to the beam.

State the condition for a photon to be absorbed by an atom in the gas.
Explain why only some frequencies are missing from the forward spectrum after the beam passes through the gas.
Suggest why emission lines can be detected at to the incident beam.
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In the de Broglie interpretation of the Bohr model, an allowed circular orbit has circumference equal to electron de Broglie wavelengths. The angular momentum of the electron in this orbit is
An atom has allowed energy levels at , and . A beam of monochromatic photons of wavelength is incident on atoms initially in the lowest of these levels. Use .
Calculate the energy of one incident photon in .
Identify the transition that can be produced by absorption of one of these photons.
photon of wavelength is also incident on atoms in the lowest level. Suggest why this photon is not absorbed.
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A nucleus has nucleon number . Assume that the nuclear radius is given by , where . The unified atomic mass unit is .
Calculate the radius of the nucleus.
Calculate the approximate density of the nucleus.
Explain why this model predicts approximately the same density for all nuclei.
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In the Bohr model of hydrogen, the energy of level is . An excited hydrogen atom makes a transition from to . Use .

Calculate the energy of the photon emitted.
Calculate the wavelength of the emitted photon.
State the spectral region of this photon.
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In the de Broglie interpretation of the Bohr model, an allowed electron orbit forms a standing wave around the circumference of the orbit. For one allowed orbit in hydrogen, and . Use and .

Use the standing-wave condition to show how Bohr's angular momentum quantization condition follows.
Calculate the electron speed in this orbit.
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The spectra of a hot low-pressure gas and of a continuous source viewed through a cooler sample of the same gas are shown.

Compare the positions of the bright lines and dark lines shown in the two spectra.
Explain why the presence of lines at only particular wavelengths is evidence for discrete atomic energy levels.
Suggest why the absorption lines appear dark when the continuous spectrum is viewed in the original beam direction.
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An atom has the allowed energy levels shown. A transition labelled T occurs from level to level . Use .

State whether transition T represents emission or absorption of a photon.
The energy levels for T are and . Calculate the photon energy in eV.
Calculate the wavelength of the photon emitted in transition T.
Explain why a transition with a larger energy difference would produce a photon of shorter wavelength.
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The absorption spectrum of light from a star is compared with laboratory emission spectra for three elements.
| Element | Lab emission wavelengths / nm | Stellar absorption wavelengths / nm |
|---|---|---|
| Hydrogen | 410.2, 434.0, 486.1, 656.3 | 660.3 |
| Helium | 447.1, 471.3, 492.2, 587.6 | 451.1, 475.3, 496.2, 591.6 |
| Sodium | 589.0, 589.6 | 593.0, 593.6 |
Identify the elements present in the outer layers of the star from the line pattern.
Explain why the identification should use the whole pattern of lines rather than one matching wavelength.
Suggest what is indicated by the fact that the matching stellar lines are all displaced toward longer wavelengths compared with the laboratory lines.
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An alpha particle of kinetic energy approaches a stationary gold nucleus head-on. The proton number of gold is . Use , and .

Calculate the distance of closest approach.
State one physical assumption made in this calculation.
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Measurements of nuclear radius for several nuclei are plotted against , where is the nucleon number. Assume the nuclei are spherical and use .

Use the graph to determine in the relationship .
Calculate the radius of a nucleus with .
Show that this model predicts approximately the same density for all nuclei and calculate its value.
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Alpha particles are scattered by a gold foil. The graph compares the Rutherford prediction with the measured fraction of alpha particles scattered through angles greater than as the alpha-particle kinetic energy is increased. For gold, .

Describe how the experimental data compare with the Rutherford prediction as the alpha-particle kinetic energy increases.
Explain why deviations from Rutherford scattering occur at sufficiently high alpha-particle energies.
The onset of deviation occurs at about . Estimate the corresponding distance of closest approach. Use and .
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An alpha particle approaches a copper nucleus head-on. In the model, the copper nucleus does not recoil and the interaction is only electric repulsion. For copper, .

Calculate the initial kinetic energy of an alpha particle of mass moving at .
Calculate the distance of closest approach. Use and .
State one reason why this value is not a direct measurement of the nuclear radius.
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The diagram shows some energy levels of hydrogen in the Bohr model. Use and .

Calculate the energy of the level.
Calculate the photon energy for the transition from to .
Calculate the wavelength of the emitted photon.
Identify the spectral series of this transition and state the region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
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A narrow beam of alpha particles is directed at a very thin gold foil in an evacuated chamber. A movable fluorescent screen detects the alpha particles after they interact with the foil.

The observations are summarized qualitatively as: most particles passed through the foil, some were deflected slightly, and a very small number were deflected through large angles.
Explain why most alpha particles passed through the foil with little or no deflection.
State what the large-angle deflections imply about the charge of the nucleus.
Discuss how these observations led to a change from the Thomson model to the Rutherford nuclear model.
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Two neutral atoms are represented by the nuclear notation and . The chemical symbol is not required.
Use the nuclear notation to identify the particles in the two atoms.
Determine the number of protons and electrons in each neutral atom.
Determine the number of neutrons in each nucleus.
Explain why the two atoms are atoms of the same element but are different isotopes.
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Several models have been used to describe atoms. A simple hard-sphere model can be useful in kinetic theory, the Thomson model included electrons embedded in positive charge, and the Rutherford model introduced a small central nucleus.
Compare the Thomson and Rutherford models of the atom.
State one feature common to the Thomson and Rutherford models.
Describe two important differences between the Thomson and Rutherford models.
Evaluate the statement: "An older atomic model is useless once a newer model is introduced."
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In the Bohr model, an allowed electron orbit may be represented by a standing de Broglie wave around a circular path. For the orbit shown, and . Use and .

Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of the electron in this orbit.
Use the de Broglie relation to calculate the electron speed in the orbit.
Show that the standing-wave condition leads to Bohr's angular momentum quantization condition for this orbit.
Explain why a wave that does not join smoothly after one circuit is not an allowed stationary orbit in this model.
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High-resolution spectra are compared with predictions from the Bohr model.
| Spectrum | Line / transition | Bohr prediction / nm | Observed position / nm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydrogen | n=3â2 | 656.3 | 656.3 |
| Hydrogen | n=4â2 | 486.1 | 486.1 |
| Hydrogen | n=5â2 | 434.0 | 434.0 |
| Hydrogen | n=6â2 | 410.2 | 410.2 |
| Atom X | line 1 | 589.3 | 589.0 / 589.6 |
| Atom X | line 2 | 330.1 | 330.8 |
| Atom X | line 3 | 285.3 | 284.7 |
Identify one observation in the data that the simple Bohr model does not fully explain.
Explain why the Bohr formula for hydrogen is not expected to predict accurately the spectrum of a multi-electron atom.
Evaluate the usefulness of the Bohr model in light of the spectral data.
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A low-pressure gas is placed in a discharge tube. The light from the tube is viewed through a spectrometer. Several bright lines are observed against a dark background.

Explain how the observation of a line spectrum provides evidence for discrete energy levels in atoms.
State what is meant by a discrete energy level.
Explain why bright lines rather than a continuous spectrum are produced.
One of the bright lines corresponds to a photon of wavelength .
Calculate the frequency of the photon.
Calculate the energy difference between the atomic levels in eV.
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The absorption spectrum of light from a star is compared with laboratory spectra of three elements. Several dark lines in the star spectrum coincide with lines in the laboratory spectra.

Explain why the pattern of spectral lines can be used to identify elements in the star.
State why each element has a characteristic line spectrum.
Explain how matching the star spectrum with laboratory spectra indicates chemical composition.
Discuss why identifying an element from a single absorption line is less reliable than identifying it from a pattern of several lines.
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An atom has three allowed energy levels: ground state , first excited state and second excited state . The zero of energy is chosen at the ground state for this question.

Consider an atom initially in the ground state.
Explain why a photon of energy is not absorbed by the atom when it is in the ground state.
Calculate the frequency of a photon that can excite the atom from the ground state to the first excited state.
The atom is now in the second excited state.
Determine the possible photon energies emitted as the atom returns to lower energy states.
Explain why the emitted photons are not necessarily travelling in the same direction as any photon that was originally absorbed.
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For a nucleus, the radius is modelled by , where . The mass of one nucleon may be taken as .
Consider a nucleus.
Calculate the radius of the nucleus.
Estimate the density of the nucleus.
Evaluate the conclusion that all nuclei have approximately the same density in this model.
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An alpha particle with kinetic energy is directed head-on towards a stationary gold nucleus with proton number . Assume that only electric repulsion acts and that the gold nucleus does not recoil.

Use energy conservation for the head-on collision.
Explain why the alpha particle momentarily stops at the distance of closest approach.
Calculate the distance of closest approach.
Discuss what this calculation can and cannot tell us about the size of the gold nucleus.
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In the Bohr model for hydrogen the energy of level is .
hydrogen atom initially in the ground state absorbs radiation.
Calculate the energy required to excite the atom from to .
Calculate the wavelength of the photon that can cause this transition.
The atom in the state subsequently emits a photon in a transition to .
Show that the photon emitted in the transition is in the visible region.
Explain why transitions ending at have higher photon energies than transitions ending at from similar upper levels.
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Alpha particles of increasing kinetic energy are scattered by a thin metal foil. At low energies the angular distribution agrees with Rutherford scattering, but above a certain energy the measured distribution begins to differ from the Rutherford prediction.

Explain the physical assumption behind Rutherford scattering at low energies.
State the force assumed to act between the alpha particle and the target nucleus.
Explain why this assumption is more valid at low incident energies.
Evaluate how the observed high-energy deviations can provide information about nuclear size.
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Bohr proposed that the angular momentum of the electron in a hydrogen atom is quantized according to . A de Broglie interpretation treats the electron as a wave around a circular orbit.

Use the standing-wave picture for the electron.
State the standing-wave condition for a stable circular orbit.
Show how this condition leads to Bohr's angular momentum quantization.
Discuss how quantized angular momentum helps explain discrete atomic energy levels and why this is not a complete model of atoms.
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A simplified hydrogen atom is initially in the state. In the Bohr model for hydrogen, and the zero of energy corresponds to ionization.

Consider the energy of the atom in the state.
Calculate the energy of the atom in the state.
Determine the minimum photon energy required to ionize the atom from the state.
Calculate the wavelength of a photon with this minimum ionization energy.
Evaluate the usefulness and limitations of the Bohr model in explaining atomic spectra.
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