Which statement best summarizes the importance of ernest rutherford’s gold foil experiment?
a. it proved that all of john dalton’s postulates were true.
b. it verified j. j. thomson’s work on the atomic structure.
c. it showed that an electron circles a nucleus in a fixed-energy orbit.
d. it showed that a nucleus occupies a small part of the whole atom.

The correct answer is Option D.

Explanation:

Ernest Rutherford gave a model which was known as Gold-foil experiment.

In this experiment, he took a gold foil and he bombarded alpha particles (carrying +2 charge) on it. He assumed that all the particles will pass through the foil due to the presence of a lot of empty space. But, to his surprise some of the particles deflected their path and a few of them bounced back their way at an angle of 180°.

He, then concluded that the gold foil must have something which has the same charge as that of alpha particle and occupies a small amount of space. Hence, he discovered that an atom has a nucleus which carries positive charge and occupies a small amount of space.

Therefore, the correct answer is option D.

i think   the answer is c hope i'm right

the answer is b. dilution