We have answered the questions, "What is the world made of?" and "What holds it together?" The world is made of six quarks and six leptons. Everything we see is a conglomeration of quarks and leptons. There are four fundamental forces and there are force carrier particles associated with each force.

We have also discussed how a particle's state (set of quantum numbers) may affect how it interacts with other particles.

These are the essential aspects of the Standard Model. It is the most complete explanation of the fundamental particles and interactions to date.

Names and descriptions are only a small part of any physical theory; the concepts, rather than physics vocabulary, are the critical elements.

The Contemporary Physics Education Project has summarized the essential aspects of the Standard Model in a single chart. This site includes an electronic version of this chart, but you can also order your own copy from CPEP.