1.1. The discovery of the Higgs Boson marked a huge accomplishment for particle physicists. 

The Higgs Boson was hypothesised by Peter Higgs and his team in 1964 as a mechanism to explain why some particles have mass. It was discovered by a large collaborative effort at the CERN particle physics laboratory in 2012. 

Explain what is meant by the term ‘hypothesised’ and suggest why it took over forty years to discover the Higgs Boson.

1.2. The experimental results which hinted at the existence of a new particle caught the attention of media worldwide.

 While public excitement grew, the scientists involved in the experiment were cautious before confirming that the results proved the existence of a new particle. In fact, confirmation came many months after the first set of results were reported.

Discuss why it takes many months after results are first discovered to confirm the existence of a new particle.

1.3. Other exciting results from experiments in particle physics have contributed to the field’s considerable advances over the past 100 years.

Discuss why collaboration between scientists and engineers is necessary in order for such advances to be made.