plumiParticles and the standard model: Edexcel A‑Level Physics questions
Every Edexcel A-Level Physics exam question on Particles and the standard model (specification points 137–143), 2016–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.
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Q15(a)
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Q15(b)
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Q15(c)
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Q11(a)(iii)
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Q13(a)
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Q13(b)
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Q14(a)
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Q14(b)
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Q15(a)(iii)
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Q15(a)(iv)
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Q15(b)(i)
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Q15(b)(ii)
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Q15(c)(i)
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Q17(a)
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Q17(b)
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Q17(c)
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Q17(d)
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All 39 questions on Particles and the standard model, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q15(a) (2 marks): Complete the particle equation for this decay. (2) ∑+ →
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q15(b) (2 marks): Explain whether the conservation laws of charge and baryon number are obeyed for this decay. (2)
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q15(c) (2 marks): The table summarises the charges for three types of quark. Quark Charge / e u +2/3 d –1/3 s –1/3 The sigma particle has one strange quark within its structure.
- June 2025, Paper 3, Q11(a)(iii) (3 marks): A maximum of 13 600 GeV of energy is available to create a new particle. Calculate the theoretical maximum mass, in kg, of the new particle. (3) Maximum mass =
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q13(a) (4 marks): Show that the rest mass of an antiproton is about 900 MeV / c2. (4)
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q13(b) (4 marks): Antiprotons can be produced by accelerating and colliding two protons moving in opposite directions. A website suggests a possible outcome for a collision betwe
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q14(a) (2 marks): A muon belongs to a family of particles called leptons. State two features that all particles in the lepton family have in common. (2)
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q14(b) (2 marks): Write a nuclear equation for the decay of the muon (μ) described above. (2)
- June 2023, Paper 1, Q2 (1 mark): A subatomic particle consists of the quark combination u s . Which of the following is the classification for this particle? A baryon B lepton C meson D nucleon
- June 2023, Paper 1, Q4 (1 mark): Muons created in the upper atmosphere can travel towards the Earth’s surface at speeds close to the speed of light. Changes to the mass and average lifetime of
- June 2023, Paper 1, Q15(a)(iii) (1 mark): Complete the particle equation for the decay of the delta (Δ0) particle. (1) Δ0 →
- June 2023, Paper 1, Q15(a)(iv) (1 mark): State why the delta particle must be classified as a baryon based on the evidence of its decay. (1)
- June 2023, Paper 1, Q15(b)(i) (3 marks): Calculate the mass of the delta particle in kg. (3) Mass = kg
- June 2023, Paper 1, Q15(b)(ii) (3 marks): The mass of the proton is 939 MeV/c2 and the mass of the pion is 139 MeV/c2. Explain why the sum of the masses of the two particles after the decay is not equal
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q1 (1 mark): A particle has a mass of 1 u and a charge of −1.6 × 10−19 C. Which of the following could be the particle? A antiproton B electron C neutron D positron
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q15(c)(i) (2 marks): Explain, with reference to base units, why GeV / c can be used as a unit of momentum. (2)
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q17(a) (2 marks): Write a particle equation for this collision. (2)
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q17(b) (3 marks): The table shows the properties of two quarks. Quark Charge / e u +2 / 3 d −1 / 3 Give the quark structure for each of the particles produced by this collision.
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q17(c) (3 marks): The mass of a pion is 140 MeV / c2 . Calculate the mass of the pion in kg. (3) Mass = kg
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q17(d) (4 marks): The mass of a neutron is about the same as the mass of a proton. A student suggests that the minimum kinetic energy the cosmic ray proton would need to create t
- November 2021, Paper 1, Q2 (1 mark): The π− particle has a mass of 140 MeV / c2. Which row of the table is correct for the antiparticle of a π− ? Particle Mass / MeV/c2 classification A Baryon +140
- November 2021, Paper 1, Q16(b) (3 marks): The lambda particle consists of up, down and strange quarks. Explain how the conservation of charge, baryon number and lepton number apply to the decay of the l
- November 2021, Paper 1, Q16(c) (1 mark): Write an equation to represent the decay of the lambda (Λ) particle. (1)
- November 2021, Paper 1, Q16(d)(i) (3 marks): Calculate this mass in kg. (3) Mass = kg
- November 2021, Paper 1, Q16(d)(ii) (3 marks): The rest mass of a proton is 940 MeV / c2. The rest mass of a pion is 140 MeV / c2. The kinetic energy of the lambda particle just before decay is 4.95 GeV. Cal
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q2 (1 mark): Which row of the table summarises the mass and charge of an antineutron? Mass / u Charge / e A 0 0 B 0 −1 C 1 0 D 1 +1
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q5 (1 mark): A high-energy proton can interact with a photon to produce two particles. Which of the following could be the two particles produced? A n + π 0 B n + π+ C π 0 +
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q8 (1 mark): A proton has a mass of 1.67 × 10 −27 kg. Which of the following shows the conversion of this mass to GeV/c2 ? − − × × × 27 10 A 1 67 . 10 1 60 . 10 × 8 2 ( . 3
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q18(b) (1 mark): Write a particle equation to represent this decay. (1)
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q18(c) (4 marks): According to the standard model, the pion and muon are classified within two different groups of particles. State which group each particle belongs to and descr
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q10 (1 mark): Which of the following particle equations is correct for the decay of a proton within a nucleus? A p oQȕ+ B p oSȕ+ C p oQȕ+ + v D p oSȕ+ + v
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q15(a) (5 marks): Describe the standard model for subatomic particles. You should identify the fundamental particles and the composition of the particles we can observe. (5)
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q15(b) (3 marks): The mass of the Higgs particle is 2.2× 10–25 kg. Calculate this mass in GeV/c2. (3) Mass = GeV/c2
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q15(c)(i) (3 marks): Explain the need for such high energy collisions. (3)
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q15(d) (2 marks): The LHC accelerates protons until they gain energies of about 7 TeV. 2 A student used the equation Ek = p to predict the energy of a proton in the beam, 2 m usi
- June 2017, Paper 1, Q16(a) (2 marks): The table shows quarks and their relative charge. Quark Charge / e u +2/3 d –1/3 s –1/3 State, with justification, the quark content of a Λ0 particle. (2)
- June 2017, Paper 1, Q16(b) (3 marks): Calculate the mass of the Λ0 particle in kg. (3) Mass of Λ0 particle = kg
- June 2017, Paper 1, Q16(c) (6 marks): A student suggests five ways a Λ0 particle might decay. These are Λ0 → p + π– Λ0 → e+ + e– Λ0 → n + π0 Λ0 → n Λ0 → p + π0 Deduce which of these decay processes
- June 2017, Paper 1, Q16(d) (2 marks): Lambda particles were first detected in experiments which made use of cosmic rays entering the atmosphere. Cosmic rays are mainly high‑energy protons which have
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