This learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, introduces the lepton family and also to brings in the idea of anti-particles, which annihilate when they meet particles.

The activities include:
* discussions about positrons, neutrinos and muons
* making PET scans
* examining particle...

In this learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, students consider both hadrons and leptons in particle reactions. They must take account of both conservation of lepton number and conservation of baryon number.

The activities include:
* applying conservation rules
* considering the...

Produced by the Institute of Physics, this learning episode considers exchange particles and different types of interactions. Feynman diagrams are used, although these may not be required by all specifications.

The activities in this learning episode examine:
* exchange particles
* interactions...

From the Institute of Physics, this topic gives clear evidence for the size of the nucleus and for the fact that nucleons are not fundamental particles but contain different parts. This leads onto Gell-Mann and Zweig’s quark model.

The learning episodes in this topic are:

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In this learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, students follow work on Rutherford scattering to look at diffraction graphs and calculate nuclear diameters.

The activities include:
* student experiment using an optical analogue to show diffraction around spherical objects
* diffraction...

In this learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, students use an analogue experiment to illustrate electron scattering by quarks. In the model, magnets are concealed in a box. Their poles represent ‘charges’ which are probed using a freely-suspended magnet. This helps to demonstrate that each of the...

From the Institute of Physics, this learning episode encourages students to investigate the quark model, which creates relative order out of the chaos of particle classification.

Quarks have three ‘colour’ charges, and the rule for stability is that combinations must be colourless.

The activities...

This topic, from the Institute of Physics, encourage students to learn more about how the microscopic behaviour of particles gives rise to the macroscopic behaviour of materials. They can also see how this gives rise to a mathematical model for an ideal gas.

The learning episodes in this topic include:

From the Institute of Physics, these demonstrations, computer model and associated discussions help students to look at Brownian motion as evidence for the particulate nature of matter, and the macroscopic gas laws. The learning episode looks at: * Brownian motion and what it tells us about gases * investigating...

This learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, establishes the ideal gas law and how to use it. Worked examples and questions allow students to look at the behaviour of an ideal gas and see that an ideal gas is one that obeys Boyle’s law with complete precision.

The activities include:
* a...

Produced by the Institute of Physics, this learning episode allows students to relate the gas laws to the behaviour of the particles of a gas.

The activities look at:
* explaining pressure in terms of particles
* deriving an equation for the pressure of a gas
* the link between kinetic...

Following on from the kinetic theory of gases, this topic from the Institute of Physics, examine the same phenomena in macroscopic terms (energy supplied to materials) and microscopic terms (how the particles are behaving).

The learning episodes include:

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Produced by the Institute of Physics, this learning episode includes discussions, demonstrations and questions which introduce students to thermodynamics. These include compressing and expanding gases, adiabatic and isothermal changes.

In this learning episode, from the Institute of Physics, students look at heat engines to find out about their efficiency and this leads into a discussion of the second law of thermodynamics.

The activities include:...