WAEC Chemistry 2019 Paper

Concept:Rutherford's $\alpha$-particle scattering experiment revealed the existence of a small, dense, positively charged centre in an atom, called the nucleus.Explanation:When $\alpha$-particles were fired at a thin gold foil, most passed straight through.This showed that most of the atom is empty space.A few $\alpha$-particles were deflected through large angles.Some even bounced back, which showed that the atom contains a tiny, massive, positively charged nucleus.Therefore, the experiment directly proves that the nucleus of an atom is positively charged.It does not directly prove the charge or mass of electrons, nor the existence of protons as separate particles.Answer:C. nuclei of atoms are positively charged.