Nuclear and Particle Physics

Question 1

State all the types of quarks

Answer 1

1. Up
2. Down
3. Strange
4. Charm
5. Top
6. Bottom

Question 2

What is the baryon number of all quarks?

Answer 2

• 1/3

Question 3

What is the charge on a up quark?

Answer 3

• +2/3

Question 4

What is the charge on a down quark?

Answer 4

• -1/3

Question 5

What is the charge on a strange quark?

Answer 5

• -1/3

Question 6

What is the charge on a charm quark?

Answer 6

• +2/3

Question 7

What is the charge on a top quark?

Answer 7

• +2/3

Question 8

What is the charge on a bottom quark?

Answer 8

• -1/3

Question 9

What is a proton made up of?

Answer 9

• 2 up quarks
• 1 down quark
• 2/3 + 2/3 - 1/3 = +1

Question 10

What is a neutron made up of?

Answer 10

• 2 down quarks
• 1 up quark
• -1/3 -1/3 + 2/3 = 0

Question 11

What are the three classes of particle?

Answer 11

• Bosons
• Leptons
• Hadrons

Question 12

What are bosons?

Answer 12

• Exchange particles

Question 13

What are leptons?

Answer 13

• Electrons
• Neutrinos
• These are fundamental particles

Question 14

What are hadrons?

Answer 14

• Mesons which are made of one quark and one antiquark e.g pions π⁺,π^-,π⁰
• Baryons which are made of three quarks e.g protons and neutrons

Question 15

What are antiparticles?

Answer 15

• Have the opposite Baryon number, Lepton number and Charge

Question 16

Memorise this table

Answer 16

Question 17

What should you use to identify whether a particle interaction is possible?

Answer 17

• QuiBLe
• Q: Quark
• B: Baryon
• L: Lepton
• Use it to test whether Q,B,L is conserved or not
• If conserved then an interaction is possible
• If not conserved then an interaction is not possible

Question 18

QuiBLe it!

π⁺ -> μ⁺ + Vμ

Answer 18

1. Pion -> Muon + Muon Neutrino
2. Quark? 0-> 0 + 0
3. Baryon? 0-> 0+0
4. Lepton? 1-> 1+0
5. Conserved so interaction is possible