Flashcards - Topic 2.1 Particles - AQA Physics A-Level
Flashcards - Topic 2.1 Particles - AQA Physics A-Level
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?
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What is the specific charge of a proton?
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What is the specific charge of a proton?
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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?
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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?
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State a use of radioactive isotopes.
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State a use of radioactive isotopes.
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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?
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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) ?
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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:
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What is pair production?
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What is pair production?
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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?
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When does weak nuclear interaction
occur?
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When does weak nuclear interaction occur?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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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