Ernest Rutherford Teacher Resources

Neat! Show your physics class exactly how Ernest Rutherford fired alpha particles at a piece of gold foil and so determined that most of an atom is composed of empty space. Not just a slide show, but almost an animation, this...

Historically, scientists had to be creative to study subatomic structure. Scholars step into their minds to recreate the procedure Rutherford used to create his atomic model. Learners identify the creative efforts of early scientists...

What's the best way to draw an atom? Well, that depends on what information you need to convey. Compare and contrast the atomic models of Bohr, Rutherford, and Lewis using a video from the JFR Science series. The resource shows the basis...

Investigators use indirect evidence to guess what is occupying a sealed box. You could also use a set of plastic Easter eggs to encase the unknown items. Another terrific activity involves having students drop a pencil on a sheet of...

Your host, Dr. Brian Cox, calls Ernest Rutherford the first proper particle physicist. He uses tennis balls to demonstrate what happened when Rutherford's students fired particles at a sheet of gold. Rutherford was able to deduce that...

In this Rutherford model worksheet, high schoolers read about Rutherford's experiment with gold foil and alpha particles which led to the discovery of subatomic particles. Students answer six analysis questions about the experiment and...

How do we know so much about the atom? Explore the evolution of the atomic model through a video from an informative chemistry lessons playlist. The narrator describes how our view of atoms and subatomic particles has changed from...

Take a historic view of our knowledge of atoms with a video that explores the discoveries of many scientists including Leucippus, Democritus, Rutherford, Bohr, Heisenburg, and more. 

How did Rutherford determine that the nucleus was the center of an atom? Take a look inside the famous Gold Foil Experiment with an interesting interactive. Learners fire a beam of alpha particles at a nucleus containing variable...

Multiple representations of the varying theories of atomic structure. With these pictures and some background of the theories and scientific figures surrounding them, your class will develop a better understanding of scientific history...

Students observe 3 models that show Dalton, Thomson and Rutherford's theories of the structure of the atom. In this structure of the atom lesson plan, students observe each model and write a summary of each theory of the atom.

In this history of the atom worksheet, students answer questions about Thomson's cathode ray apparatus, Rutherford's gold foil experiment and Dalton's beliefs about the atom. Students identify the number of protons, neutrons and...

Your students should enjoy this slideshow which includes some basic definitions about the atomic structure of atoms. In fact, this presentation would be best-viewed before giving details and diagrams of neutrons, protons and quarks. The...

This discovery student page offers students an opportunity to work as a team to discover the shape of an object they cannot see. It is an experiment which parallels particle physicists dilemma in not being able to see very small...

Physicist Ernest Rutherford might have hated chemistry, but we love his contribution to science! Rutherford won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Viewers learn about this interesting man through a look at his personal photos, research, and...

This is a stellar overview of everything light and quantum! There are 30 multiple choice questions, none of them requiring any mathematical computation. There are a few diagrams to analyze: light rays striking reflective and refractive...

Written to accompany another slide show available through our site, the information here gives the history and trivia connected to nuclear decay research. This slide show concentrates on the definitions and theory of nuclear fission and...

For this early history of the atom worksheet, high schoolers answer 4 questions about Thomson's Plum Pudding model of the atom and Rutherford's experiment that led to the understanding of some of the structures of the atom.

In this atom worksheet, students read about the history of the discovery of the atom. Students write a story, poem, song or other creative project in which they shrink to an incredibly small size and are trapped in a carbon atom.

In this atomic spectra worksheet, learners answer eighteen questions about wavelengths of light, the emission spectrum, energy of photons, the frequency of electromagnetic radiation and electrons in the excited state.

Learners investigate the structure of the atom through hands on activities. For this atomic structure lesson, students perform 4 activities showing indirect evidence of the structure of the atom and the parts of the atom. They also list...

Help young physicists make a quantum leap in their understanding of matter with this short instructional video. Tracing the early work of Max Planck, Albert Einstein, and others, this resource explains the science behind the...