In the Rutherford scattering experiment, draw the trajectory traced by alpha particles in a Coulomb field of a nucleus and explain how this led to the estimate size of the nucleus.
a) The trajectory is a straight line; the nucleus size is estimated from the angle of deflection.
b) The trajectory is a hyperbola; the nucleus size is estimated from the distance of closest approach.
c) The trajectory is a parabola; the nucleus size is estimated from the speed of the alpha particles.
d) The trajectory is an ellipse; the nucleus size is estimated from the energy of the alpha particles.