Which quantity is generated for quarks and leptons by the Higgs-Boson?

• A. Charge
• B. Momentum
• C. Mass
• D. Spin

Answer: (C)

Mass is the quantity generated for quarks and leptons by the Higgs field. In the Standard Model, fermions interact with the Higgs field through Yukawa couplings. When the Higgs field settles into its nonzero vacuum expectation value, these interactions become mass terms in the equations describing particles, with the mass of each fermion set by the strength of its coupling to the Higgs. This mechanism explains why different quarks and leptons have different masses, proportional to their respective Yukawa couplings. The Higgs field doesn’t create charge, momentum, or spin—those properties are intrinsic or arise from other aspects of physics.