AQA GCSE Combined Science: Synergy key terms

A group selected from a population for investigation, allowing researchers to draw conclusions about the wider population.

Collecting information from part of a population or habitat to draw conclusions about the whole.

A solution containing as much dissolved solute as it can hold at a particular temperature.

A quantity with magnitude (size) but no direction.

A line labelled with the real distance it represents, allowing lengths in a diagram to be converted into actual lengths.

A vector drawing in which arrow lengths represent force magnitudes according to a stated scale, and arrow directions represent force directions.

The spreading of waves in many directions, for example when they reflect from a rough surface.

Broad agreement among scientists based on the overall scientific evidence.

A representation used to explain observations and make predictions that can be tested.

The output coil of a transformer, connected to the circuit receiving electrical power.

An organism that eats primary consumers.

A physical feature that develops at puberty, such as breast development or facial hair, rather than a reproductive organ itself.

A tumour formed in another part of the body by cancer cells that have spread from the original tumour.

Rock formed from accumulated sediments, such as limestone formed from carbonate sediments.

The separation of suspended solids from a liquid by allowing the solids to settle under gravity.

An environmental factor, such as predation, that affects the chances of survival and reproduction.

The process in which humans choose plants or animals with particular inherited characteristics and breed them over many generations. It is also called artificial selection.

An assessment that considers only selected stages or impacts of a product’s life.

A neurone that carries impulses from receptors towards the brain or spinal cord.

An electrical circuit in which the components are connected along a single loop, with no branches.

Waste water containing human waste and other waste from homes and buildings.

The solid-rich material that settles to the bottom of a tank during sewage treatment.

A chromosome belonging to the pair that carries genes determining biological sex: X and Y in humans.

An infection that can be passed between people through sexual contact.

A barrier that absorbs radiation, reducing the amount reaching an object or person.

An end wall between adjoining phloem transport cells that contains pores, allowing cell sap to flow between them.

The unit of radiation dose used to express the risk of bodily harm. $1\text{ Sv} = 1000\text{ mSv}$.