Which of the following shows the masses of the three elementary particles in decreasing order?
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Leptons, Baryons, Mesons
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Mesons, Baryons, Leptons
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Baryons, Mesons, Leptons
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Leptons, Mesons Baryons
C
Correct answer
Explanation
Baryons (protons, neutrons) are the heaviest class of hadrons with masses around 938 MeV/c². Mesons (pions, kaons) are intermediate-mass hadrons around 140 MeV/c². Leptons (electrons, neutrinos) are the lightest fundamental particles at 0.511 MeV/c² for electrons. The decreasing mass order is therefore Baryons > Mesons > Leptons.