Key terms & definitions

The militant Islamist terrorist organisation led by Osama bin Laden and responsible for the attacks of 11 September 2001.

A name of Allah commonly translated as ‘the Most Compassionate’ or ‘the Most Merciful’, often understood to emphasise his particular mercy towards the faithful.

A name of Allah commonly translated as ‘the Most Merciful’ or ‘the Most Gracious’, expressing his mercy towards all creation.

A sacred structure on which offerings were made and portions of sacrificial animals were burned for the gods.

The sacred table at which the Eucharist is celebrated, expressing both Christ’s sacrifice and the meal of the Last Supper.

A second identity or alternative version of a person. Hyde is the identity through which Jekyll gives separate expression to his evil impulses.

Angles at different intersections on opposite sides of a transversal, either both between the two lines or both outside them. They are equal when those lines are parallel.

Angles between two lines on opposite sides of a transversal. They are equal when the two lines are parallel.

A rhyme pattern in which the first and third lines rhyme, and the second and fourth lines rhyme: ABAB.

The rule that the angle between a tangent and a chord equals the angle subtended by that chord in the opposite segment of the circle.

An electric current that repeatedly reverses direction.

A current that repeatedly reverses direction.

An electric current in which the movement of charge repeatedly changes direction.

Current that repeatedly reverses direction.

An electric current that repeatedly changes direction.

A potential difference whose polarity repeatedly reverses: each terminal is alternately positive and negative relative to the other.

A potential difference whose polarity repeatedly reverses, usually while its magnitude also varies.

A potential difference that repeatedly reverses polarity.

A potential difference that repeatedly reverses polarity, usually changing continuously with time.

A voltage whose polarity repeatedly reverses, so each terminal alternates between being positive and negative relative to the other.

A possible course of action that can be compared with other ways of addressing an issue.

Methods of resolving disputes without a court trial, including negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration.

Fiction imagining how the past might have developed differently if particular events or discoveries had changed.

A testable statement predicting a difference between conditions or a relationship between variables.

A way of earning a living that offers an alternative to activities which damage or clear forests.

Treatments used instead of mainstream medical care; when used alongside mainstream care, they are often called complementary treatments.

A generator that produces alternating current.

The sacred precinct at Olympia containing the Temple of Zeus and other religious structures.

The height of a place above sea level.

Height above a reference level, such as sea level.