Question

How many types of quarks are there and what are their names?

Answer 1

Hint: This is a pure definition-based question, where if the definition is known then writing the answer becomes easy. The definition of quarks must be known and the different types that are available in quarks. Just remember that quark is a type of matter, so the properties of quark are the same as matter which can help to define the term quark.

Complete answer:
A quark is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All commonly observable matter is composed of up quarks, down quarks, and electrons. Due to a phenomenon known as color confinement, quarks are never found in isolation; they can be found only within hadrons, which include baryons and mesons, or in quark–gluon plasmas.

There are six types, known as flavors, of quarks: up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom.

Up and down quarks have the lowest masses of all quarks. The heavier quarks rapidly change into up and down quarks through a process of particle decay. Because of this, up and down quarks are generally stable and the most common in the universe, whereas strange, charm, bottom, and top quarks can only be produced in high energy collisions. For every quark flavor there is a corresponding type of antiparticle, known as an antiquark, that differs from the quark only in that some of its properties (such as the electric charge) have equal magnitude but opposite sign.

Note:
These types of questions are common in paper as it tests the concept understanding of the student. If the definition of quarks is not known, then it becomes difficult to write the answer for this question. Since quarks have the same properties as matter, then it can help to make the definition for quarks if it is not known.