Wave nature of electrons was confirmed by:

The photoelectric effect, which instead confirmed the particle nature of light

Rutherford alpha-particle scattering off thin gold foil

Thomson's experiment measuring the electron's charge-to-mass ratio

Wave nature of electrons was confirmed…

Answer: Davisson-Germer electron diffraction experiment.

A The photoelectric effect, which instead confirmed the particle nature of light
B Davisson-Germer electron diffraction experiment
C Rutherford alpha-particle scattering off thin gold foil
D Thomson's experiment measuring the electron's charge-to-mass ratio

Correct answer: B. Davisson-Germer electron diffraction experiment

Explanation: Davisson-Germer (1927): electrons diffracted by nickel crystal, confirming de Broglie wave hypothesis.

Comparison of the Thomson model and the Rutherford model of the atom: in the Thomson plum pudding model alpha particles pass almost straight through a diffuse positive sphere, while in the Rutherford model a concentrated central nucleus deflects some alpha particles through large angles, with the lower panels showing the alpha particle source and gold foil and the observed result of wide-angle scattering

The Geiger–Marsden alpha-scattering result: a few alpha particles bounce back at large angles, which rules out Thomson’s diffuse model and demands a tiny, massive, positively charged nucleus. Image: Kurzon, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Concept context

Thomson's plum-pudding model, Rutherford's nuclear model from alpha-scattering, Bohr's postulates and hydrogen spectrum, spectral series (Lyman to Pfund), Rydberg formula, and limitations of each model.

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Wave nature of electrons was confirmed by:

Concept context

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