Question

The most stable particle in the Baryon group is
A) Neutron
B) Omega-particle
C) Proton
D) Lambda-particle

Answer 1

Hint: Baryons are a member of the class of hadrons which are all particles made up of subatomic particles called quarks. Baryons are made up of 3 quarks and neutral baryons are more stable than charged baryons. So using this information we can determine the most stable particle in the Baryon group.

Complete step by step solution:
Baryons are heavy subatomic particles that are made up of three quarks. Both protons and neutrons, as well as omega-particles and Lambda-particles, are baryons that are made up of three quarks. Since baryons are composed of quarks, they participate in the strong interaction via the strong nuclear force.
Protons are stable because the proton is the lightest baryon which means it has the lowest mass. All other baryons decay into the proton depending on their lifetime. The neutron is nearly the same mass as the proton but slightly higher mass (about 0.1% difference in mass), and as a result, it is slightly more unstable than the proton.
Omega and lambda baryons are a family of subatomic hadron particles which are 2-3 times heavier than the mass of the proton and hence they are very unstable. They have lifetimes fewer than seconds and hence they are very unstable as compared to the proton and the neutrons.
So, the correct answer is option (C).

Note:
While the proton and neutron also have a finite lifetime, it is quite large to the best of our knowledge from the standard model and is comparable to the lifetime of the universe. Neutrons are slightly more unstable on their own but when it is combined with the proton in the nucleus of the atom, they become more stable.