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Ch.2 - Atoms, Molecules, and Ions
Chapter 2, Problem 16b

An unknown particle is caused to move between two electrically charged plates, as illustrated in Figure 2.7. You hypothesize that the particle is a proton. (b) Would it be deflected by a smaller or larger amount than the b rays?
Diagram showing an unknown particle moving between positively and negatively charged plates.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Electric Field

An electric field is a region around charged particles where other charged particles experience a force. The direction of the field is defined as the direction a positive test charge would move. In the context of the charged plates, the electric field is directed from the positive plate to the negative plate, influencing the motion of charged particles like protons and beta rays.
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Strong-Field Ligands result in a large Δ and Weak-Field Ligands result in a small Δ.

Charge-to-Mass Ratio

The charge-to-mass ratio is a measure of how much charge a particle has relative to its mass. This ratio affects how much a particle will be deflected in an electric field. Protons, being positively charged and relatively heavy, will experience a different degree of deflection compared to beta rays, which are much lighter and can be negatively charged (electrons) or neutral (neutrinos).
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Deflection of Charged Particles

The deflection of charged particles in an electric field depends on their charge, mass, and velocity. Heavier particles like protons will be deflected less than lighter particles like beta rays when subjected to the same electric field strength. This principle is crucial for predicting the behavior of particles as they move between charged plates, as illustrated in the question.
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Subatomic Particles
Related Practice
Textbook Question

In a series of experiments, a chemist prepared three different compounds that contain only iodine and fluorine and determined the mass of each element in each compound: Compound Mass of Iodine (g) Mass of Fluorine (g) 1 4.75 3.56 2 7.64 3.43 3 9.41 9.86 (b) How do the numbers in part (a) support the atomic theory?

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Textbook Question
Discovering which of the three subatomic particles proved to be the most difficult—the proton, neutron, or electron? Why?
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Textbook Question

An unknown particle is caused to move between two electrically charged plates, as illustrated in Figure 2.7. You hypothesize that the particle is a proton. (a) If your hypothesis is correct, would the particle be deflected in the same or opposite direction as the b rays?

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Textbook Question
What fraction of the a particles in Rutherford's gold foil experiment are scattered at large angles? Assume the gold foil is two layers thick, as shown in Figure 2.9, and that the approximate diameters of a gold atom and its nucleus are 270 pm and 1.0 * 10–2 pm, respectively. Hint: Calculate the cross sectional area occupied by the nucleus as a fraction of that occupied by the atom. Assume that the gold nuclei in each layer are offset from each other.
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Textbook Question

Millikan determined the charge on the electron by studying the static charges on oil drops falling in an electric field (Figure 2.5). A student carried out this experiment using several oil drops for her measurements and calculated the charges on the drops. She obtained the following data: Droplet Calculated Charge (C) A 1.60 * 10-19 B 3.15 * 10-19 C 4.81 * 10-19 D 6.31 * 10-19 (b) What conclusion can the student draw from these data regarding the charge of the electron?

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Textbook Question

Millikan determined the charge on the electron by studying the static charges on oil drops falling in an electric field (Figure 2.5). A student carried out this experiment using several oil drops for her measurements and calculated the charges on the drops. She obtained the following data: Droplet Calculated Charge (C) A 1.60 * 10-19 B 3.15 * 10-19 C 4.81 * 10-19 D 6.31 * 10-19 (c) What value (and to how many significant figures) should she report for the electronic charge?

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