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A Particle Physics Course for High-School Students

A Particle Physics Course for High-School Students

About this course

  • 4 hours study
  • Level 0: Beginner

Ratings

5 out of 5 stars

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You can start learning at any time. By signing up and enrolling you can track your progress and earn a Statement of Participation upon completion, all for free.

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    • General

      • Welcome to this particle physics course for high-school students – a research-based product of CERN’s Physics Education Research team. It contains 16 chapters with videos and quizzes and covers a core curriculum that introduces you to fundamental questions, such as “What is a particle?” or “What are charges and interactions?”, leading to more applied questions, such as “What is a particle accelerator?” and “What is a particle detector?”.

        • Total length: 4 hours
        • Target audience: High-school students aged 14-18 years
        • Order: Following the original chapter sequence is recommended, as the concepts build progressively on one another.
        • Certificate: To qualify for a digital certificate, complete all chapters and submit the accompanying quizzes. The quizzes are self-grading, provide immediate feedback, and include both single-choice (i.e., select the one correct answer) or multiple-choice (i.e., select all correct answers).
        • Subtitles: Available in all languages! Simply switch on closed captions and select the auto-translation of the original subtitles in your preferred language.
        • Additional course feature: DIY experiments that you can try out at home and further reading materials.


        Watch the trailer to get an idea of what this course is all about:


        Note

        • Safari users: if videos don't load, click the video title or the "Watch on Youtube" to open them on YouTube directly.
        • Under 16? Please read the OpenLearn Create guidelines before enrolling — parental consent is required to create an account.
  • Course learning outcomes

    By the end of this course, you will be able to:

    • Understand the role of scientific models and be aware of their limitations.
    • Explain key concepts of the Standard Model of particle physics, including elementary particles, charges and fundamental interactions.
    • Explain how conservation laws and probabilities govern particle transformations.
    • Describe how particle physicists use particle accelerators and particle detectors as research tools.
    • Appreciate the collaborative and evolving nature of scientific research and the open questions that drive future discoveries.
  • Course dates:

    First Published 21/08/2026.

    Updated 21/09/2026

Course content

Below is the course content. You can click on any section here and it will take you through to this section of the course.

Course Reviews

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Course reviews

  • Julia Woithe

    Julia Woithe21 September 2026 4:04

    Rating entered. No review given

About this course

  • 4 hours study
  • Level 0: Beginner

Ratings

5 out of 5 stars

Sign up to get more

You can start learning at any time. By signing up and enrolling you can track your progress and earn a Statement of Participation upon completion, all for free.

View this course

Sign up to get more