Question 19M.2.SL.TZ1.2a.iii
| Date | May 2019 | Marks available | [Maximum mark: 2] | Reference code | 19M.2.SL.TZ1.2a.iii |
| Level | SL | Paper | 2 | Time zone | TZ1 |
| Command term | Describe | Question number | a.iii | Adapted from | N/A |
Silicon-30 can be formed from phosphorus-30 by a process of beta-plus decay.
Energy is transferred to a hadron in an attempt to separate its quarks. Describe the implications of quark confinement for this situation.
[2]
quarks cannot be directly observed as free particles/must remain bound to other quarks/quarks cannot be isolated ✔
because energy given to nucleon creates other particles rather than freeing quarks/OWTTE ✔
Few candidates recognized that quarks cannot exist in isolation, and fewer still could discuss the effect of adding energy to attempt to separate quarks. Some recognized that the added energy would ultimately be converted into mass, but few clearly specified that this would form new particles (such as mesons) rather than just new quarks.
