Q.U.I.N.N.
Quantum Understanding and Interactive Navigation for Newbies
Senior physics worksheet – teacher notes

Introduction
The Standard Model is a key component of Australia's senior secondary curriculum. The 
Standard Model explains the properties and interactions of elementary particles, providing 
students with a critical foundation for understanding modern physics.

The senior worksheet provides year 11-12 students with an opportunity to consolidate and reinforce 
their understanding of The Standard Model.Students can complete this worksheet in consultation with the digital interactive standard model and/or a paper copy, and the Internet for student research.

By completing the worksheet, students achieve the following learning objectives:
•demonstrate understanding of fundamental particles and their properties
•apply Conservation Laws to particle interactions
•analyse Feynman diagrams and particle decay processes
•connect historical experiments to understanding of modern particle physics.

Question-specific guidance
Understanding section (Q1-3)
Q1 Encourage students to use mass values in GeV/c2. Top quark (173.2 GeV/c2) is heaviest.
Q2 Key comparison points: electron (charge = -1, affected by EM and weak force) vs neutrino (charge = 0, only weak force).
Q3 Table should include:
• Photon: mass = 0, charge = 0,electromagnetic force
• W±: mass = 80.4 GeV/c2, charge = ±1,weak force
• Z0: mass = 91.2 GeV/c2, charge = 0, weak force
• Gluon: mass = 0, charge = 0, strong force.

Particle interactions section (Q4-6)
Q4 Lepton number calculation should show:
• Before: n(0) → p+(0) + e-(1) + ν-e(-1)
• Total lepton number conserved:0 = 0 + 1 + (-1).
Q5 Baryon number calculation:
• Before: p(1) + p-(-1) = 0
• After: π+(0) + π-(0) = 0.
Q6 Look for conservation of:
• Energy
• Momentum
• Charge
• Lepton number.

Common misconceptions to address
1. Particle/antiparticle charge relationships 
2. Conservation law applications3. Force carrier properties4. Baryon vs lepton number.

Extension activities
•LHC data analysis using ATLAS or CMS public datasets
•virtual particle detector simulations
•historical timeline of particle discoveries.