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Flashcards - Topic 2.1 Particles - AQA Physics A-Level

The document discusses fundamental particle physics concepts including: - The main constituents of an atom are protons, neutrons, and electrons. - Specific charge is the charge to mass ratio of a particle, and the specific charge of a proton is 9.58 x 10^7 C/kg. - Nucleons are protons or neutrons that make up the nucleus. - Isotopes are versions of an element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. - Radioactive isotopes have uses like carbon dating to estimate the age of materials.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
68 views87 pages

Flashcards - Topic 2.1 Particles - AQA Physics A-Level

The document discusses fundamental particle physics concepts including: - The main constituents of an atom are protons, neutrons, and electrons. - Specific charge is the charge to mass ratio of a particle, and the specific charge of a proton is 9.58 x 10^7 C/kg. - Nucleons are protons or neutrons that make up the nucleus. - Isotopes are versions of an element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. - Radioactive isotopes have uses like carbon dating to estimate the age of materials.

Uploaded by

lyly
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© © All Rights Reserved
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AQA A-Level Physics

2.1 Particles
Flashcards

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What are the main constituents of an
atom?

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What are the main constituents of an atom?

● Proton
● Neutron
● Electron

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What is meant by specific charge?

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What is meant by specific charge?

The charge to mass ratio:


Specific charge = charge / mass
Units C/kg.

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What is the specific charge of a proton?

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What is the specific charge of a proton?

Protons have charge +1.6 x10^-19 and mass


1.67 x 10^-27 kg
Specific charge = 1.6 x 10^-19/1.67 x 10^-27
= 9.58 x 10^7 C/kg

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What is the letter associated with a
proton number?

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What is the letter associated with a proton number?

Z.

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What is a nucleon?

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What is a nucleon?

A constituent of the nucleus: a proton or a


neutron.

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What letter represents nucleon number?

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What letter represents nucleon number?

A.

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Which is the correct notation?

A Z

Z
X OR
A
X
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Which is the correct notation?

A Z

Z
X OR
A
X
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What is an isotope?

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What is an isotope?

A version of an element with the same


number of protons but a different number
of neutrons.

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State a use of radioactive isotopes.

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State a use of radioactive isotopes.

Carbon dating - the proportion of carbon-14 in a


material can be used to estimate its age.

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What is the strong nuclear force?

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What is the strong nuclear force?
The fundamental force that keeps the nucleus stable
by counteracting the electrostatic force of repulsion
between protons.

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Describe the range of the strong force?

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Describe the range of the strong force?
● Repulsive up to 0.5fm
● Attractive from 0.5-3fm
● Negligible past 3fm

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What makes a nucleus unstable?

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What makes a nucleus unstable?
Nuclei which have too many of either protons or
neutrons or both.

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How do nuclei with too many nucleons decay?

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How do nuclei with too many nucleons decay?
Alpha decay (emission of a helium nucleus formed of
2 protons and 2 neutrons).

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How do nuclei with too many neutrons decay?

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How do nuclei with too many neutrons decay?
Beta minus decay in which a neutron decays to a
proton by the weak interaction (quark character has
changed from udd to uud).

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How was the existence of the neutrino
hypothesised?

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How was the existence of the neutrino
hypothesised?
The energy of particles after beta decay was lower
than before, 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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What is meant by beta minus decay?

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What is meant by beta minus decay?
When a neutron turns into a proton, the atom
releases an electron and an anti-electron
neutrino.

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What is an alpha particle?

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What is an alpha particle?

A particle contains two protons and two neutrons,


the same as a helium nucleus.

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What is an antiparticle?

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

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True or false:
‘Every particle has a antiparticle’

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True or false: ‘Every particle has a antiparticle’

True.

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What is the name of the antiparticle of an
electron?

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What is the name of the antiparticle of an electron?

Positron.

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What is the antiparticle of π0 (pion with 0
charge) ?

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What is the antiparticle of π0 (pion with 0 charge) ?

π0, its antiparticle is itself.

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What occurs when a particle and
antiparticle meet?

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What occurs when a particle and antiparticle meet?
Annihilation:

The mass of the particle and antiparticle is converted back to


energy in the form of 2 gamma ray photons which go in
opposite directions to conserve momentum.

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What is pair production?

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What is pair production?

A gamma ray photon is converted into a


particle-antiparticle pair.

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What is the minimum energy of a photon
required to make a proton-antiproton
pair?

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What is the minimum energy of a photon required to
make a proton-antiproton pair?
2 x proton rest energy
2 x 938.257 = 1876.514 MeV

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Name the 4 fundamental forces?

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Name the 4 fundamental forces?

● Gravity
● Electromagnetic
● Weak nuclear
● Strong nuclear

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The virtual photon is the exchange
particle of which force?

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The virtual photon is the exchange particle of which
force?
The electromagnetic force.

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

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What type of particles are affected by the strong
nuclear force?
Hadrons.

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What is the exchange particle of the
weak nuclear force?

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What is the exchange particle of the weak nuclear
force?
The W boson (W+ or W-).

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What does the electromagnetic force act
on?

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What does the electromagnetic force act on?

It acts on charged objects, for example when a


positively charged ball repels another positively
charged ball.

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When does weak nuclear interaction
occur?

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When does weak nuclear interaction occur?

When quark character changes (a quark changes


into another quark), it affects all types of
particles.

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Which properties must be conserved in
particle interactions?

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Which properties must be conserved in particle
interactions?
● Energy
● Charge
● Baryon number
● Lepton number
● Momentum
● Strangeness (only for strong interactions)
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What is a hadron?

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What is a hadron?
Both baryons and mesons are hadrons, hadrons
are made of 2 or more quarks held together by
the strong nuclear force.

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What are the classes of hadrons?

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What are the classes of hadrons?

● Baryons (three quarks)


● Mesons (1 quark, 1 antiquark)

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The pion and kaon are both examples of
which class of particle?

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Pion and kaon are both examples of which class of
particle?
Mesons.

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The pion can be an exchange particle for
which force?

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The pion can be an exchange particle for which
force?
The strong nuclear force.

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What particle does a kaon decay into?

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What particle does a kaon decay into?

A kaon decays into a pion.

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Give some examples of baryons?

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Give some examples of baryons?

● Proton - uud
● Neutron - ddu

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What is significant about a proton?

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What is significant about a proton?

● It is the only stable baryon


● All baryons will eventually decay into protons

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What are some example of leptons?

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What are some examples of leptons?

● Electron
● Muon
● Neutrino
● (the antiparticles of the above)

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What does a muon decay into?

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What does a muon decay into?

An electron.

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What is the strangeness value of a
strange quark?

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What is the strangeness value of a strange quark?
-1

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True or false:
‘Strangeness is always conserved in a
weak interaction’

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True or false: ‘Strangeness is always conserved in
the weak interaction’
False.
Strangeness is only conserved in the strong
interaction, in weak interactions it can change by
0, -1 and +1.

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Complete the sentence:
Strange particles are produced through the
_____________ and decay through the ____________.

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Strange particles as particles that are produced through the
strong interaction and decay through the weak interaction.

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