Subatomic Physics Made Easier Trivia Quiz

Answer: Matter particles and force particles

The Standard Model uses matter and force particles to account for every atom, every subatomic particle and all the forms of force and energy.

Answer: Six quarks and six leptons with their corresponding anti-particles

"Young man, if I could remember the names of these particles, I would have been a botanist!" - Enrico Fermi

Six quarks and six leptons plus their anti-particles are the full complement of matter particles. These, in addition to the force particles, account not only for all the particles but also for all their interactions. Although the geometry, mathematics and rules for combining these particles are quite complex, the basic building blocks are small in number.
All visible matter is composed of an even smaller number of fundamental matter particles. All matter that we see is composed of protons, neutrons and electrons. The only matter particles needed to produce protons and neutrons are the up and down quark. Electrons are themselves fundamental particles (a type of lepton). There are three generations of fundamental particles, each generation containing 2 quarks and 2 leptons. Only the first generation of particles is stable and capable of forming stable and therefore, visible matter. The lepton other than the electron that is stable is a neutrino.

Answer: Hadrons

The strange and quirky names given to subatomic particles can intimidate and confuse the learner and obscure the simplicity of The Standard Model. Two of the quarks were initially named "truth" and "beauty". More sober minded physicists apparently prevailed, and truth and beauty became the top and bottom quark.

Answer: Baryons and mesons

The confusion of category names for specific particle names is another point of confusion in the subatomic world. For instance, a proton is a particular particle, which is made up of three quarks and is, therefore, a baryon. Additionally a proton has a spin of 1/2. Particles with a spin that is a multiple of 1/2 (e.g. 1/2, 3/2) behave differently than particles with a spin that is a whole number (e.g. 1, 2). Particles with spin in multiples of ½ are denoted fermions; particles with whole number spins are denoted bosons.

A proton has a spin of ½, is also composed of three quarks, and is, consequently, both a baryon and a fermion. It's the equivalent of observing that some particular woman named Mary is both an adult and a woman.

Answer: Neutron

Leptons are "point particles". They do not combine but may "decay", transforming into other leptons.

Our mass particles can be summarized as follows: six quarks (up, down, strange, charm, top bottom) and six leptons (electron, tau, muon - each with a corresponding neutrino).

Answer: Friction

Interactions include not only forces but also particle decays and particle annihilations. Electromagnetic interactions and weak interactions were once felt to be separate kinds of interactions but are now considered to be different aspects of a single "electroweak" interaction.

Answer: Photon

Photons are the "coin-of-the-realm" in the electromagnetic world. An electron in an atomic orbital does nothing until it "absorbs" a photon emitted from some other particle. If the photon is the right energy, then the electron can absorb it and be "promoted" to a higher energy level. Later on that same electron can "emit" the photon and return to its prior energy level.

The emitted photon can speed away to interact with another particle.

Answer: Gluon

Each proton contains two quarks with a +2/3 charge and one with a -1/3 charge yielding a net charge of +1. The strong force is powerful enough to overcome the net repulsive force of the positively charged quarks which make up protons. The magnitude of the force actually increases with distance! It is difficult to detect individual quarks because so much energy is required to "pry" them out of the nucleus.
Pions mediate the residual strong nuclear force that binds the positively charged protons within the nucleus.

Answer: Z+

There is no Z+ (perhaps because there is no Z-). The only "Z" force carrier is neutral.

Another possible point of confusion in understanding The Standard Model arises from confusion over the "mass" of force particles. We are accustomed to the equivalence between matter and energy, and our training in classical physics has taught us to think of energy as force acting over distance. Electromagnetic energy is the type of energy with which we are most familiar, and it is carried by photons which have zero mass. In The Standard Model, Photons are force particles and have no mass. However, other force particles can be quite massive. In fact, the majority of the mass of protons and neutrons is in their "force" particles (gluons) not their "matter" particles (quarks). To a person accustomed to connecting force with energy, the notion of force having mass may seem counterintuitive.

Answer: No

Relativity is required for an adequate description of gravity. One of the advantages of string theory is its ability to deal with both relativity and quantum mechanics. Relativity is required for an adequate description of gravity. One of the advantages of string theory is its ability to deal with both relativistic and quantum mechanical considerations.

The basic outline of the fundamental particles operating in The Standard Model is as follows:

I. Mass Particles
A. Six quarks
1. Up, down, strange, charm, top, bottom
2. Combine to form Hadrons in two varieties: baryons, mesons
B. Six leptons
1. Three with charge (Tau, muon, electron)
2. Three neutrinos each corresponding to a charged lepton
3. Decay, don't combine
II. Three types of interactions mediated by force particles
A. Strong (gluons)
B. Electroweak
1. Electromagnetic (photon)
2. Weak (Z, W+, W- bosons)
C. Gravity (graviton?)

Beautifully simple, don't you think?