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Physics Paper 1 > Particles > Flashcards

Particles Flashcards

1
Q

What is meant by specific charge?

A

The charge per unit mass of an atom - Specific charge=Charge/Mass - Unit: C/kg

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2
Q

What is the letter associated with the proton number?

A

Z

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3
Q

What is a nucleon?

A

A constituent of the nucleon: a proton or a neutron

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4
Q

What letter represents nucleon number?

A

A

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5
Q

What is an isotope?

A

A form of an element that has the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons

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6
Q

What is a use of radioactive isotopes?

A

Carbon dating - the proportion of Carbon-14 in a material can be used to estimate its age

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7
Q

What is the strong nuclear force?

A

The fundamental force that keeps the nucleus stable by counteracting the electrostatic force of repulsion between protons

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8
Q

What is the range of the strong nuclear force?

A

Repulsive up to 0.5fm,
Attractive between 0.5fm and 3fm,
Negligible past 3fm

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9
Q

What makes a nucleus unstable?

A

Nuclei which have either too many of either protons, neutrons, or both

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10
Q

How do nuclei with too many nucleons decay?

A

Alpha decay (emission of a helium nucleus formed of 2 protons and 2 neutrons)

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11
Q

How do nuclei with too many neutrons decay?

A

Beta minus decay (a neutron decays to a proton by the weak interaction - quark character has changed from udd to uud)

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12
Q

How was the existence of the neutrino hypothesised?

A

It was found that the energy of particles was lower after beta decay - a particle with 0 charge (to conserve charge) and negligible mass must carry away this excess energy, this particle is the neutrino

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13
Q

What is meant by beta minus decay?

A

When a neutron turns into a proton, the atom releases an electron and an anti-electron neutrino

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14
Q

What is an alpha particle?

A

A particle containing 2 protons and 2 neutrons, the same as a helium nucleus

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15
Q

What is an antiparticle?

A

For each particle there is an antiparticle with the same rest energy and mass, but all other properties are opposite of its respective particle

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16
Q

What is the name of the antiparticle of an electron?

A

Positron

17
Q

What is the antiparticle of a pion with zero charge (pi^0)?

A

(pi^0), it’s its own antiparticle

18
Q

When does annihilation occur?

A

When a particle and antiparticle meet

19
Q

What is annihilation?

A

When a particle and an antiparticle meet, the mass of the particle and the antiparticle is converted back to energy in the form of 2 gamma ray photons which go in opposite directions to conserve momentum

20
Q

What is pair production?

A

A gamma ray photon is converted into a particle-antiparticle pair

21
Q

What are the 4 fundamental forces?

A

Gravity,
Electromagnetic,
Weak nuclear,
Strong nuclear

22
Q

What is the exchange particle of the electromagnetic force?

A

The virtual photon

23
Q

What types of particles are affected by the strong nuclear force?

A

Hadrons

24
Q

What is the exchange particle of the weak nuclear force?

A

The W boson (+ or -)

25
Q

What does the electromagnetic force act on?

A

Charged objects

26
Q

When does weak nuclear interaction occur?

A

When quark character changes - it affects all types of particles

27
Q

Which properties must be conserved in particle interactions?

A

Energy,
Charge,
Baryon number,
Lepton number,
Momentum,
Strangeness (only for strong interactions)

28
Q

What is a hadron?

A

A class of subatomic particle that experiences the strong nuclear interaction - they’re made up of 2 or more quarks held together by the strong nuclear force - Both baryons and mesons are hadrons

29
Q

What are the classes of Hadrons?

A

Baryons (3 quarks),
Mesons (1 quark, 1 antiquark)

30
Q

What are the 2 classes of Mesons?

A

Pions,
Kaons

31
Q

What is the exchange particles of the strong nuclear force?

A

Gluons and Pions

32
Q

What particle does a Kaon decay into?

A

A Pion

33
Q

What are some examples of Baryons?

A

A proton - uud,
A neutron - udd

Physics Paper 1 (1 decks)

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