2.1.12
Quarks & Antiquarks
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Quarks
Quarks are fundamental particles. Hadrons (including protons and neutrons) are made of quarks. Different combinations of quarks make different hadrons.

Types of quark
- There are six different types of quark but you only need to know about the following three:
- Up, u.
- Down, d.
- Strange, s.

Properties
- The table summarises the key properties of up, down and strange quarks.

Antiquarks
- Every quark has a corresponding antiquark.
- They have the opposite properties to their quarks.
Quark Combinations - Baryons
Different combinations of quarks form different hadrons. Here we look at two important baryons - protons and neutrons - and their antiparticles.

Proton
- A proton is made of two up quarks and one down quark.
- Proton = uud
- The charges add up to +1.
- The baryon numbers add up to +1.
- Strangeness and lepton numbers add to zero.

Antiproton
- An antiproton is made of two anti-up quarks and one anti-down quark.
- Antiproton = uud
- The charges add up to -1.
- The baryon numbers add up to -1.
- Strangeness and lepton numbers add to zero.

Neutron
- A neutron is made of one up quark and two down quarks.
- Neutron = udd
- The charges add up to 0.
- The baryon numbers add up to +1.
- Strangeness and lepton numbers add to zero.

Antineutron
- An antineutron is made of one anti-up quark and two anti-down quarks.
- Antineutron = udd
- The charges add up to 0.
- The baryon numbers add up to -1.
- Strangeness and lepton numbers add to zero.
Quark Combinations - Mesons
Different combinations of quarks form different hadrons. Mesons are a type of hadron containing two quarks.

Pions and kaons
- Various mesons are created by u, d, s and their associated antiquarks.
- Pions have u and d quarks (and antiquarks) only.
- Kaons have one s or s quark.
- Notice that some pions and kaons are antiparticles of each other.
- The π0 meson is its own antiparticle!
1Measurements & Errors
1.1Measurements & Errors
2Particles & Radiation
2.1Particles
2.2Electromagnetic Radiation & Quantum Phenomena
3Waves
3.1Progressive & Stationary Waves
3.2Refraction, Diffraction & Interference
4Mechanics & Materials
4.1Force, Energy & Momentum
5Electricity
5.1Current Electricity
6Further Mechanics & Thermal Physics (A2 only)
6.1Periodic Motion (A2 only)
6.2Thermal Physics (A2 only)
7Fields & Their Consequences (A2 only)
7.1Fields (A2 only)
7.2Gravitational Fields (A2 only)
7.3Electric Fields (A2 only)
7.4Capacitance (A2 only)
7.5Magnetic Fields (A2 only)
8Nuclear Physics (A2 only)
8.1Radioactivity (A2 only)
9Option: Astrophysics (A2 only)
9.1Telescopes (A2 only)
9.2Classification of Stars (A2 only)
9.3Cosmology (A2 only)
10Option: Medical Physics (A2 only)
10.1Physics of the Eye (A2 only)
10.2Physics of the Ear (A2 only)
10.3Biological Measurement (A2 only)
10.4Non-Ionising Imaging (A2 only)
10.5X-Ray Imaging (A2 only)
10.6Radionuclide Imaging & Therapy (A2 only)
11Option: Engineering Physics (A2 only)
11.1Rotational Dynamics (A2 only)
11.2Thermodynamics & Engines (A2 only)
12Option: Turning Points in Physics (A2 only)
12.1Discovery of the Electron (A2 only)
12.2Wave-Particle Duality (A2 only)
Jump to other topics
1Measurements & Errors
1.1Measurements & Errors
2Particles & Radiation
2.1Particles
2.2Electromagnetic Radiation & Quantum Phenomena
3Waves
3.1Progressive & Stationary Waves
3.2Refraction, Diffraction & Interference
4Mechanics & Materials
4.1Force, Energy & Momentum
5Electricity
5.1Current Electricity
6Further Mechanics & Thermal Physics (A2 only)
6.1Periodic Motion (A2 only)
6.2Thermal Physics (A2 only)
7Fields & Their Consequences (A2 only)
7.1Fields (A2 only)
7.2Gravitational Fields (A2 only)
7.3Electric Fields (A2 only)
7.4Capacitance (A2 only)
7.5Magnetic Fields (A2 only)
8Nuclear Physics (A2 only)
8.1Radioactivity (A2 only)
9Option: Astrophysics (A2 only)
9.1Telescopes (A2 only)
9.2Classification of Stars (A2 only)
9.3Cosmology (A2 only)
10Option: Medical Physics (A2 only)
10.1Physics of the Eye (A2 only)
10.2Physics of the Ear (A2 only)
10.3Biological Measurement (A2 only)
10.4Non-Ionising Imaging (A2 only)
10.5X-Ray Imaging (A2 only)
10.6Radionuclide Imaging & Therapy (A2 only)
11Option: Engineering Physics (A2 only)
11.1Rotational Dynamics (A2 only)
11.2Thermodynamics & Engines (A2 only)
12Option: Turning Points in Physics (A2 only)
12.1Discovery of the Electron (A2 only)
12.2Wave-Particle Duality (A2 only)
Practice questions on Quarks & Antiquarks
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1Which of the following is NOT a type of quark?Multiple choice
- 2
- 3What are the quark make ups of a neutron and an antineutron?Multiple choice
- 4What baryon is shown in this diagram?Multiple choice
- 5Types of meson:Fill in the list
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