You are expected to know about:

• Proton, neutron, electron;
• Charges, relative masses.  (Atomic mass unit is not required);
• Proton number Z, nucleon number A, isotopes.

1. What was the first idea of the atom?

2. Write down the three components of the atom, noting the relative masses of each.

3. What is an isotope?

1. What happened in Rutherford’s experiments?

2. What did the experiment show?

3. What was the evidence?

4. Have a look at the history link.  What was Rutherford’s comment?

You are expected to know:

• Refractive index, n; candidates are not expected to recall methods for determining refractive indices
• Snell’s law of refraction n1 sin q1 = n2 sin q2
• Total internal reflection including calculations of critical angle n = 1/sin qc,
• Simple treatment of fibre optics including function of cladding with lower refractive index around central core limited to step index only;
• modern applications of fibre optics, e.g. endoscopy,  communications, etc.

1. Why does refraction occur?

2. What are the different ways to state refractive index?

3. Look at the animation for refraction.

4. Play the animation for critical angle.  Write down what you understand by critical angle and total internal reflection.

1. What is an optical fibre?

2. What physics principle does it use?

3. Show how a simple optical fibre is made up.

4. Go to the introduction page and note down the applications.

You are expected to know:

·        Light as a photon;

·        E = hf

·        The electron volt

1. What happens in the photoelectric effect?

2. Why will radio waves, however intense, NOT cause the photoelectric effect while very dim UV will?

3. What is a photon?

4. Does every photon cause an electron to be emitted?

1. What physics quantity does the electron volt (eV) measure?

2. How is the electron volt related to the joule?

3. Write down a simple formula to convert joules to eV.

1. Write down Einstein’s Photoelectric equation.  Notice that the author uses the code w instead of F.

2. What is meant by the work function?

3. Once a photoelectron is released, what happens to the rest of the energy of the photon?

1. What happens if you heat up gases to very high temperatures?

2. How can spectral lines identify an atom?

3. Look at the spectra of different elements.  What do you notice?

4. What did Bohr say about the electrons around an atom?

5. Click on the applet to see this. 

6. What does a photon do to the electron?

7. Move on to the next applet that shows the quantum ladder.

8. (Harder) Use the applet on the next page to show how different energy levels of an atom can lead to different spectral lines.

1. Louis de Broglie suggested that particles could diffract.  What physics phenomenon do you normally associate with diffraction?

2. Write down the formula for the de Broglie wavelength/

3. How do you work out the momentum of a particle?

You are expected to know about:

• Know about Electron, positron; Proton, antiproton; Neutrino, antineutrino;
• Weak interaction, limited to changes in which a proton changes to a neutron or vice versa
• Pair production; annihilation of a particle and its antiparticle releases energy;
• Concept of exchange particles to explain forces between elementary particles
• Simple Feynman diagrams to show how a reaction occurs in terms of particles going in and out and exchange particles: limited to  β-  decay, β+ decay, electron capture, neutrino – neutron collisions, antineutrino – proton collisions and electron – proton collisions
• Hadrons: baryons (proton, neutron) mesons (pion, kaon)
• Hadrons are subject to the strong nuclear force.
• know that the proton is the only stable baryon into which other baryons eventually decay; in particular the decay of the neutron should be known
• Leptons: electron, muon, neutrino
• Know  baryon and lepton numbers for individual particles and antiparticles

Is the atom fundamental?

2.      Are protons and neutrons fundamental?

3.      What is meant by the standard model

4.      What is anti matter?

5.      Name the six quarks.

6.      What are hadrons?  What kinds of hadrons are there and how are they made up?

7.      What are the leptons?  Which lepton do we find around us and why?

8.      What is a neutrino?

9.      Write down the four fundamental interactions.

10.  How is matter held together?

11.  Why does the nucleus not fly apart?

12.  What kind of decays can happen?

13.  Look at neutron beta decay

14.  Electron – positron annihilation.

Note down the different Feynman diagrams.

2.      Write balanced equations for these interactions.

3.      What is a boson and what does it do?

4.      You can also use other notes on this page to revise the particle physics.