Key terms & definitions

A movable component in a nuclear reactor that absorbs neutrons, allowing the rate of the chain reaction to be regulated.

An untreated comparison site with similar characteristics to an intervention site, used to help distinguish the intervention’s effects from other changes.

An approach that explains conformity by examining the controls that restrain people from breaking rules or laws.

The CPU component that decodes instructions and coordinates processing by sending control signals to other components.

The CPU component that decodes instructions and sends control signals to coordinate processing and the movement of data.

A factor other than the one being investigated that is kept constant or made comparable because it could affect the results.

A factor kept the same so that it does not provide another explanation for a difference in results.

A variable kept the same so that any change in the dependent variable can be linked fairly to the independent variable.

A quantity kept constant so that any change in the results can be attributed to the independent variable.

A factor kept the same so that it does not provide an alternative explanation for the results.

Factors kept constant so that any change in the result can be attributed to the independent variable.

A disagreement that generates public debate because people dispute a decision, its consequences or its fairness.

A group of eight Roman soldiers who shared a tent or barrack room.

Insulting, contemptuous treatment of someone.

A large, continuous built-up area formed when expanding towns or cities join together.

The transfer of heat through the movement of a liquid or gas: warmer, less dense material rises and cooler, denser material sinks.

Energy transfer caused by the bulk movement of a fluid, such as air or water.

Energy transfer by the movement of a liquid or gas.

Heat transfer through the movement of a liquid or gas, as warmer material rises and cooler material moves in to replace it.

Circulating movement in which hotter, less dense material rises and cooler, denser material sinks, transferring heat.

How easy it is for customers to access, buy and use a product or service.

How easy and practical it is to obtain data, considering access to information and the availability of participants.

Food that has been partly or fully prepared before purchase, reducing the preparation needed by the consumer.

An international agreement through which participating governments accept obligations concerning a particular issue.

An established artistic way of depicting something, such as using particular skin colours for male and female figures.

A familiar feature commonly used in a particular media form or genre.

A familiar feature or pattern that audiences recognise and may expect, such as a romance ending with the couple together.

The agreed direction in which positive charge would flow around a circuit, from the positive terminal to the negative terminal outside the supply.

The direction in which positive charge would flow: from the positive terminal to the negative terminal through an external circuit.

In Ann Oakley’s account, a nuclear family composed of a legally married couple voluntarily choosing parenthood of one or more children.