Final answer:
The hundreds of known particles are made from a few fundamental particles which are categorized into leptons, quarks, and carrier particles. These fundamental particles form the basis of all matter in the universe and their interactions are governed by the Standard Model of particle physics.
Step-by-step explanation:
The hundreds of particles known in physics are all made from a small number of fundamental particles. There are three types of these particles: leptons, quarks, and carrier particles or gauge bosons. Each category contains particles that are essential to the structure of the universe. Leptons are not subject to the strong nuclear force, and the electron is one familiar lepton. Quarks, on the other hand, are the building blocks of hadrons, which include protons and neutrons. Carrier particles are responsible for mediating the fundamental forces. In total, there are six types of leptons and quarks each, forming three analogous families, characterized by varying levels of stability and mass.
Moreover, quarks are unique in that they come in six 'flavors' and three 'colors', and they combine in such a way that they produce color-neutral particles. Hadrons are composed of quarks in combinations: baryons with three quarks and mesons with a quark and an antiquark. These components and their interactions are thoroughly explained by the Standard Model of particle physics, which is the framework describing the fundamental particles and how they interact. This structure is integral to understanding all matter in the universe, which, quite remarkably, is built from these basic constituents much like a complex meal can be created using a limited number of ingredients.