1. Ernest Rutherford 1871-1937 (Nelson, New Zealand)

2. Interesting Facts of his Life Had very little money to fund experiments because he was a farmer He entered college at the age of 16. Students conducted many of his experiments for him.

3. Rutherford's Gold Foil Experiment (1906) Consisted of shooting alpha particles at a very thin piece of gold. 98% of the particles went straight through, 2% went through but were deflected at large angles,.01% were deflected straight back

4. Contributions to Modern Atomic Theory Discovered that atoms are mostly empty space. Established that atoms have a tiny dense center called ‘the nucleus’. The nucleus contains most of the mass of an atom. Electrons are found outside of the nucleus. The nucleus is positively charged.

5. Rutherford’s Atomic Model

6. Rutherford Atomic Theory Highlights  Gold Foil Experiment  Atomic discoveries - Atoms are mostly empty space and have a nucleus.  Discoveries occurred around 1907.