Booklet 2A - Particles (Factual) Flashcards
What is the Standard Model?
The Standard Model explains what the basic building blocks of matter are and how they interact, governed by four fundamental forces.
What is a fundamental particle?
A fundamental particle is one that cannot be broken down into any sub particles.
What is a Fermion?
It is a matter particle.
What are the two types of Fermions?
Quark
and
Lepton
What are the names of the 6 types of Quarks?
- Up
- Down
- Charm
- Strange
- Top
- Bottom
What are the names of the 6 types of Leptons?
- Electron
- (Electron) neutrino
- Muon
- Muon neutrino
- Tau
- Tau Neutrino
What is meant by a Hadron?
Particles made from quarks
What are the two types of Hadrons?
Baryon
and
Meson
What is meant by a Baryon?
Baryons are made from 3 quarks
What is meant by a Meson?
Mesons are made from 2 quarks.
They always consist of a quark and an antiquark pair.
Give an example of a Baryon.
Proton
Neutron
How does an antimatter particle compare with a matter particle?
Antimatter particle has identical properties to the matter particle but equal and opposite charge.
What evidence is there for antimatter?
Positrons discovered ocurring naturally in cosmic rays.
Anti-neutrinos produced as part of Beta Decay.
Pairs of Gamma rays produced when a positron annihilates with an electron (used in PET scanners)
What is a Boson?
Bosons are force carrying particles.
Name the four Bosons.
- Photons
- W and Z Bosons
- Gluons
- Gravitons
What force is carried by a photon?
Electromagnetic Force
What force is carried by W and Z bosons?
Weak force
What force is carried by a Gluon?
Strong force
What force is carried by a Graviton?
Gravity force
A proton is made up of two up quarks and a down quark. The up quarks are both positively charged. Why does the proton not get torn apart?
The attractive Strong Nuclear force between the quarks is greater than the repulsive Electromagnetic force between them.
Describe beta (minus) decay?
Beta (minus) decay is when a neutron decays into a proton releasing an electron and an antineutrino.
What did beta decay provide the first evidence for?
The existence of neutrinos/antineutrinos.
Why were neutrinos suggested as an extra particle produced as a result of beta decay?
When beta decay occurs momentum and energy should be conserved. This didn’t appear to be true when the proton and beta particle were considered on their own. There had to be another particle that accounted for the rest of the energy/momentum.
In physics what is meant by a field?
It is the region where an object experiences a force.
What type of field will a stationary charge create?
An electric field
What is the effect of an electric field on a charged particle?
A charged particle will experience a force in an electric field (causing an acceleration if it is free to move).
Draw the electric field around a positive charge.
Field lines away from the positive charge.
Draw the electric field around a negative charge.
Field lines towards negatively charged particle.