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A muon will decay into a neutrino, an antineutrino and an electron or a positron - Edexcel - A-Level Physics - Question 11 - 2023 - Paper 4
Question 11
A muon will decay into a neutrino, an antineutrino and an electron or a positron. A positron is the antiparticle of an electron. (a) State one difference between a ... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A muon will decay into a neutrino, an antineutrino and an electron or a positron - Edexcel - A-Level Physics - Question 11 - 2023 - Paper 4
Step 1
Step 2
Explain whether the following decay would be possible.
Answer
To analyze the decay oldsymbol{ ext{ extmu} o e^{-} + u_{ ext{e}} + ar{ u}_{ ext{ extmu}}}, we need to check both conservation of charge and lepton number:
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Charge Conservation:
- Initial charge (Muon): 0
- Final charges: Electron (): -1, Electron neutrino (): 0, Antineutrino (ar{ u}_{ ext{ extmu}}): 0
- Total final charge = -1.
- Since the initial charge (0) does not equal the final charge (-1), charge is not conserved.
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Lepton Number Conservation:
- Initial lepton number (Muon): 1 (as a lepton)
- Final lepton numbers: Electron: 1, Electron neutrino: +1, Antineutrino: -1
- Total final lepton number = 1 + 1 - 1 = 1.
- Lepton number is conserved in this case.
Despite lepton number being conserved, since charge is not conserved, the decay is not possible.