In 1909, ernest rutherford shot tiny particles at a sheet of gold foil. he expected all of the particles to move straight through the gold's atoms. instead, some of the particles moved through, but other particles bounced back. what conclusion did rutherford draw from these results?

a. an atom is a soft blob of material composed of a mixture of protons and electrons.

b. an atom is entirely solid and has no empty spaces between its particles.

c. an atom has a dense nucleus surrounded by mostly empty space where electrons travel.