Quantum chromodynamics

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/quantum-chromodynamics

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is quantum chromodynamics?Quantum chromodynamics, or QCD, is a theory that explains the strong force that keeps quarks glued together inside protons and neutrons. It uses invisible particles called gluons to hold the quarks in place.
2. Why do quarks never appear alone?Because of a rule called color confinement, quarks are always stuck inside larger particles called hadrons. When you try to pull them apart, new quark pairs pop up instead of free quarks.

Color Charge: A fundamental property of quarks and gluons, analogous to electric charge, that dictates their strong interaction strength.
Color Confinement: The principle that quarks and gluons are permanently bound within color-neutral hadrons and cannot be isolated.
Asymptotic Freedom: The property of QCD where the strong force interaction strength decreases at very short distances or high energies.
Hadrons: Composite particles, such as protons and neutrons, made of quarks and/or antiquarks bound by the strong force.