Particle Physics quiz

More questions about Particle Physics

These visible examples show the question style. LearnClash turns the full topic into ranked duels and spaced repetition.

1. 1 Easy

   Which equation lets colliders turn energy into new particles?

   Answer: E = mc²

   Why: That is how two colliding protons can create a Higgs boson more than 100 times heavier than either of them.

2. 2 Medium

   How many quark types, like up and down, are there?

   Answer: Six

   Why: The six come in three pairs, up and down, charm and strange, top and bottom, and the quarks in all stable matter come from the first pair.

3. 3 Hard

   What share of a proton's mass do its three quarks' masses make up?

   Answer: About 1%

   Why: The other 99% is energy, mostly that of the gluons binding the quarks, turned into mass through E = mc².

4. 4 Easy

   What makes up most of the matter in the universe?

   Answer: Dark matter

   Why: Dark matter gives off no light at all, so physicists know it is there only from the pull of its gravity on stars and galaxies.

5. 5 Medium

   Which quarks make up a neutron?

   Answer: Up, down, down

   Why: An up quark carries a charge of +2/3 and a down quark -1/3, so one up and two downs add up to exactly zero.

6. 6 Hard

   Why does the water around a nuclear reactor core glow blue?

   Answer: Cherenkov radiation

   Why: Light moves at only about 75% of its vacuum speed in water, so fast charged particles can outrun it there.