Edexcel GCSE Design and Technology key terms

An assessment of a product’s environmental impacts across raw material production, manufacture, distribution, use and disposal.

An assessment of environmental impacts across a product’s whole life cycle, including resource use, energy consumption, emissions and pollution.

An assessment of the environmental impacts of a material or product throughout its life, from obtaining raw materials to disposal or recycling.

The part of a cam's cycle during which the follower moves upwards.

A resistor whose resistance decreases as the light falling on it becomes more intense.

A semiconductor component that emits light when current flows through it in the forward direction.

Movement along a straight line.

Movement along a straight line.

Heating a narrow line of thermoforming polymer sheet, bending it to an angle and holding it until it cools.

A graph that joins successive plotted values to show how a quantity changes across an ordered variable, such as time.

A line drawn through the overall pattern of points on a scatter graph, with roughly equal numbers of points above and below it.

A mechanism made from rigid rods or struts joined by pivots, used to transmit or change force and movement.

A thin, dichloromethane-based joining liquid used to bond compatible thermoplastics such as acrylic by solvent action.

The means by which a person earns a living and meets their basic needs.

The device being supplied with power by a circuit, such as a motor or relay coil.

The distance from a lever’s fulcrum to the point where the load acts.

Money borrowed on the condition that it is repaid, usually with interest.

Felling trees and removing them to supply timber.

A market where metals are traded and widely accepted reference prices for metals are established.

A section of a program that repeats, either continuously or until a specified stopping condition is reached.

An output device that converts a changing electrical audio signal into sound waves and can reproduce speech, music and other complex sounds.

The light-reflecting quality of a textile surface that gives it a glowing or glossy appearance.

How readily a material can be cut and shaped using machine tools.

Powered equipment used to carry out manufacturing operations such as cutting, drilling or sanding.

A fastener generally threaded up to its head, which engages with a matching internal thread in a component or nut.

Powered workshop equipment used for operations such as cutting, drilling, shaping or finishing materials.

A material’s magnetic behaviour, including whether it is attracted to a magnet.

Electricity supplied to a building through the electricity distribution network.