AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy key terms

The removal of oxygen from a metal oxide by reaction with carbon, producing the metal.

A substance or agent that can cause cancer.

A disease affecting the heart or blood vessels.

A person who has one copy of a recessive allele causing a disorder, does not have that disorder, but can pass the allele to their offspring.

A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being used up in that reaction.

The negative electrode during electrolysis, where positively charged ions gain electrons.

A positively charged ion, formed when an atom loses electrons.

A biological process explaining how a factor can cause a particular effect or disease.

The basic structural and functional unit of a living organism.

The series of stages in which a cell grows, copies its DNA and divides to produce two genetically identical daughter cells.

The process by which a cell changes to become specialised, acquiring structures that enable it to carry out a particular function.

The boundary around a cell that controls which substances enter and leave it.

The solution of sugars and salts dissolved in water inside a plant cell’s permanent vacuole.

The chemical process that transfers energy from glucose in living cells.

A carbohydrate made from glucose that strengthens plant cell walls.

A layer outside the cell membrane that strengthens a cell; in plant and algal cells it is made of cellulose.

The brain and spinal cord, which coordinate nervous responses.

The single point at which an object's weight may be considered to act.

A physical change between solid, liquid and gas, without changing the chemical identity of the substance.

The total amount of electric charge passing a point in a circuit during a given time, measured in coulombs (C).

A change in which one or more new substances form.

Energy stored chemically, for example in fuel, food or a battery.

A representation using chemical symbols and numbers to show which elements a substance contains and the relative numbers of their atoms.

A process in which one or more new substances are formed, often with a detectable energy change.

A one- or two-letter representation of an element, such as O for oxygen or Na for sodium. It can also represent one atom of that element.

The green pigment in chloroplasts that absorbs light energy for photosynthesis.

A structure within a plant cell where photosynthesis takes place.