A Level Physics

• Atom

  Formed of 3 constituents: protons, neutrons and electrons
• Nucleus

  Formed of protons and neutrons, also known as nucleons
• Electrons


  Orbit the nucleus in shells
• Particle properties


  • Charge (C)
  • Relative Charge
  • Mass (kg)
  • Relative Mass
  • Specific Charge (C/kg)
• Specific charge


  Charge-mass ratio of a particle
• Proton number (Z)


  Number of protons in an atom
• Nucleon number (A)


  Number of protons and neutrons in an atom
• Isotopes


  Atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons
• Carbon-14


  Radioactive isotope of carbon used in carbon dating
• Carbon dating


  Calculating the approximate age of an object containing organic material by measuring the percentage of carbon-14 remaining
• Strong nuclear force (SNF)

  Keeps nuclei stable by counteracting the electrostatic force of repulsion between protons
• Unstable nuclei have too many of either protons, neutrons or both, causing the SNF to not be enough to keep them stable</b>
• Alpha decay


  1. Proton number decreases by 2

  2. Nucleon number decreases by 4
• Beta-minus decay

  1. Proton number increases by 1

  2. Nucleon number stays the same
• Neutrinos were hypothesised to account for the lack of energy conservation in beta-minus decay, and later observed
• Antiparticle


  Has the same rest energy and mass but all other properties are opposite the particle
• Photon


  Packets of electromagnetic radiation that transfer energy and have no mass
• Annihilation

  Where a particle and its corresponding antiparticle collide, converting their masses into energy released as 2 photons
• PET scanner


  Uses annihilation of positrons with electrons to produce gamma photons that can be detected to create 3D images of the body
• Pair production


  Where a photon is converted into an equal amount of matter and antimatter
• Fundamental forces

  • Gravity
  • Electromagnetic
  • Weak nuclear
  • Strong nuclear
• Exchange particles

  Carry energy and momentum between particles experiencing a force
• Exchange particles for each force

  • Gluon (strong)
  • W boson (weak)
  • Virtual photon (electromagnetic)
  • Graviton (gravity)
• Electron capture

  p + e- → n + νe
• Electron-proton collision

  p + e- → n + νe
• Beta-plus decay

  p → n + e+ + νe
• Beta-minus decay

  n → p + e- + νe
• Hadrons

  Particles that experience the strong nuclear force, formed of quarks
• Leptons

  Fundamental particles that do not experience the strong nuclear force
• Types of hadrons

  • Baryons (3 quarks)
  • Antibaryons (3 antiquarks)
  • Mesons (quark-antiquark)
• Baryon number

  Shows whether a particle is a baryon (1), antibaryon (-1), or not a baryon (0)
• The proton is the only stable baryon, so all baryons will eventually decay into a proton
• Lepton number

  Shows whether a particle is a lepton (1), antilepton (-1), or not a lepton (0)
• Muon


  A "heavy electron" that decays into an electron
• Strange particles


  Produced by the strong nuclear interaction but decay by the weak interaction, such as kaons
• Strangeness


  A property of particles that must be conserved in strong interactions but can change in weak interactions
• Scientific investigations in particle physics rely on international collaboration due to the high cost and data output of particle accelerators
• Types of quarks and antiquarks

  • Up (u)
  • Down (d)
  • Strange (s)
• Quark combinations for mesons

  • π⁰ (uu or dd)
  • π⁺ (ud)
  • π⁻ (du)
  • k⁰ (sd)
  • k⁺ (su)
  • k⁻ (su)
• Neutron decay

  n → p + e- + νe