The neutron, proton, electron and alpha particle are moving with equal kinetic energies. How can the particles be arranged in the increasing order of their velocities?

The kinetic energy (KE) of a particle is defined by the formula KE = 1/2mv², where m is mass and v is velocity [t1][t3]. For particles with equal kinetic energy, velocity is inversely proportional to the square root of the mass (v ∝ 1/√m) [t3][t9]. Therefore, the particle with the highest mass will have the lowest velocity, and the lightest particle will have the highest velocity. Comparing the masses: an alpha particle is the heaviest (approx. 4 amu), followed by the neutron (approx. 1.008 amu), the proton (approx. 1.007 amu), and finally the electron, which is the lightest (approx. 1/1836 amu) [t4][t8]. Consequently, the increasing order of velocities is alpha particle (slowest), followed by neutron, then proton, and finally electron (fastest) [t3][t4].