Conservation Laws

Check quantum numbers, solve reaction puzzles, and balance particle equations

What Makes a Reaction Allowed?

Not every particle reaction is possible. Conservation laws act as gatekeepers: electric charge, baryon number, and lepton number must be conserved in every interaction. Additional quantum numbers (strangeness, charm, etc.) are conserved by the strong and electromagnetic forces but can change in weak interactions.

Conservation Checker

Drag particles into the reactant and product zones, then check whether the reaction conserves all quantum numbers. See exactly which conservation laws are satisfied and which are violated.

Allowed or Forbidden?

Test your understanding: for each reaction, decide whether it is allowed or forbidden by conservation laws. Can you identify which law is violated?

Quantum Number Reference

Every particle carries a unique set of quantum numbers. This table lists them all — use it as a reference when solving reaction puzzles.

Reaction Balancer

Fill in the missing particle! Given an incomplete reaction equation, use conservation laws to determine what the missing particle must be.

Key Takeaways

  • Always conserved — electric charge, baryon number, lepton number, energy-momentum
  • Conserved by strong/EM — strangeness, charm, bottomness, topness, isospin
  • Weak force exception — flavor quantum numbers can change by ±1
  • Conservation = selection rules — they determine which reactions are possible