This is the third part in a series of classes designed to introduce learners to particle physics. In part 1 I introduced learners to the Standard Model of Particle Physics and helped learners understand the matter and forces that cause everything in our universe to exist.  In  part 2, we explored the properties of particles, as well as how particles interact using the different forces.

Part 3 of the series will focus on subatomic particles that are made of combinations of the elementary particles learned about in part 1, and held together by forces learned in part 2. We will focus on several types of subatomic particles and learners will understand what causes them to exist, what function they have in the universe, and what happens to these particles.

Week 1: Symmetry and Conservation
~ Discrete v. Continuous symmetry
~ CPT symmetry in particle physics
~ Conservation laws in particle physics

Week 2: Hadrons
~ Learn the two categories of hadrons and what they are made of
~ Review the strong force and QCD
~ Sketch examples of QCD in hadrons

Week 3: Pions
~ Understand what Pions are and which elementary particles they are made of
~ Learn and sketch the process of the residual strong force

Week 4: Pion Decay
~ Learn about pion decay and its products
~ Sketch Feynman diagrams to illustrate pion decay
~ Understand the property of isospin and how it pertains to mesons

Week 5: Kaons
~ Learn about mesons called kaons, and understand why they exist
~ Sketch Feynman diagrams to illustrate kaon decay
~ Understand the property of strangeness and how it pertains to mesons

Week 6: Eta Mesons
~ Listen to an explanation of superposition in quantum mechanics
~ Learn about the eta and eta prime mesons and understand why they exist
~ Understand how eta mesons are both similar to and different from other mesons

Week 7: Eightfold Way
~ Listen to a brief overview of quark theory
~ Learn about the organization of mesons in the eightfold way
~ Sketch the meson eightfold way and understand what it shows us

Week 8: Common Baryons
~ Sketch the baryon eightfold way and understand what it shows us
~ Write examples of baryons and their properties

Week 9: Energy of Particles
~ Listen to an explanation of kinetic, potential, and internal energy
~ Understand how kinetic energy can be turned into internal energy
~ Understand how massless particles can still have energy

Week 10: Cosmic Rays
~ Understand that energy that comes to Earth originates in stars as quark-gluon plasma
~ Learn about cosmic rays and the energy they bring us
~ Sketch examples of particle chains formed by cosmic rays