UNIT 7 – LESSON 4

7.3: THE STRUCTURE

OF MATTER
HOW SMALL IS SMALL?

• What is the smallest thing you

can think of?
• Atoms?
• Protons/Neutrons?
• Electrons?
• What is a fundamental particle?
CATHODE RAYS
ATOMS ARE NOT THE MOST BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS
OF MATTER. (EVIDENCE OF ELECTRONS.)
 A quark is a type of elementary
particle and a fundamental
QUARKS constituent of matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-993mWNcHk
 THE HISTORY OF THE QUARK

• The electrons were accelerated to high energies

and fired at the nucleons. (Electron
scattering)
• Some of the electrons were scattered through
large angles. This suggested non uniform density
in the nucleus.
• Quarks were a simple explanation that
accounted for the differences between neutrons
and protons.
 BARYONS
BARYONS ARE MADE UP OF 3
QUARKS.
(NEUTRONS AND PROTONS ARE
BOTH BARYONS.)
MESON
QUARK
TYPES
QUARK CONFINEMENT
Quark confinement means that we cannot ever
separate a single quark from a baryon or a meson.
(The new energy is converted into matter.)
TYPES OF
FUNDAMENTAL
PARTICLES
NEUTRINOS

• Neutral in charge, with very low mass.

• Neutrinos are subatomic particles
produced by the decay of radioactive
elements.
• Only interacts weakly with other matter.
(weakly affected by fundamental forces)
ANTI MATTER

What is anti matter?

https://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=Lo8NmoDL9T8
POSITRON

• Identical mass as electrons

with opposite charge and
quantum numbers.
• A positron plus and electron
produce pure energy.
(Photons)
• Opposite is pair production,
when a photon produces a
pair of positron and electron.
TOPIC 7: ATOMIC, NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE
PHYSICS
7.3 – THE STRUCTURE OF MATTER
Conservation of strangeness

∙The Κ– is a hadron because it is composed of

quarks.
TOPIC 7: ATOMIC, NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE
PHYSICS
7.3 – THE STRUCTURE OF MATTER
Conservation of strangeness

∙The proton is composed of uud.

TOPIC 7: ATOMIC, NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE
PHYSICS
7.3 – THE STRUCTURE OF MATTER
Conservation of strangeness

∙If
X is sss, then the reaction can be written
su + uud → ds + us + sss.
∙The left has an s, u, and d left.
∙The right also has an s, u, and d left.
∙The quarks are balanced on each side.
CONSERVATION VALUES & IB BOOKLET

Values must be conserved: lepton (separately by family), baryon,

charge, strangeness
TOPIC 7: ATOMIC, NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE
PHYSICS
7.3 – THE STRUCTURE OF MATTER
Applying conservation laws in particle reactions

∙Conservation of charge.
∙Conservation of baryon number.
∙Conservation of lepton number (by family).
∙Also strangeness, parity, isotopic spin, angular
momentum.
LET US PRACTICE TOGETHER!
Applying conservation laws in particle reactions
EXAMPLE: Consider the following reactions. Assign
charge, lepton numbers and baryon numbers to each
particle to determine the feasibility of each reaction.
p → n + e+ + νe FEASIBLE
Baryon number: 1 = 1+ 0+ 0
Lepton number: 0 = 0 + -1I + +1I
Charge: 1 = 0 + +1 + 0
n → p + e- + νμ NOT FEASIBLE
Baryon number: 1 = 1 + 0 + 0 L must be
Lepton number: 0 ≠ 0 + +1I + -1II conserved by
Charge: 0 = 1 + -1 + 0 family.
n + p → μ+ + νμ NOT FEASIBLE
Baryon number: 1 + 1 ≠ 0 + 0 B must be
Lepton number: 0 + 0 = -1II + 1II conserved.
Charge: 0 + 1 = +1 + 0
 COMPLETE THE
PARTICLE REACTIONS
ON THE BACK OF THE
INDIVIDUAL
STANDARD MODEL
SHEET. PRACTICE