Key terms & definitions

Electromagnetic radiation that transfers energy and is emitted by warm objects; it is invisible to the human eye.

Infrasound is sound with a frequency below 20 Hz, the lower limit of normal human hearing.

The basic systems a society needs to function, such as roads, bridges, transport networks and electricity supplies.

The basic systems and facilities that support a place, including roads, water pipes, electricity networks and sewers.

The 1987 US–Soviet agreement to eliminate their land-based missiles with ranges of 500–5,500 km.

Extracting flavour and aroma from ingredients by leaving them in a liquid, often after warming it.

Tiny organisms found in water. Wells compares human beings to these microscopic creatures to challenge humanity’s belief in its importance.

A shaped mass of metal suitable for storage, transport or further manufacture.

Breathing air into the lungs; also called inspiration.

The mixture of gases breathed into the lungs.

Worth that something has in itself, rather than only because it is useful or profitable to someone.

The passing of genetic information and characteristics from parents to offspring.

The passing of genetic information from parents to offspring.

Money or property received from someone after their death.

Property or money received after someone’s death; Islam recognised women’s rights to inherit.

A feature that can be passed from parents to offspring through genes.

A feature of an organism that can be passed from parents to offspring through genes.

A genetic condition passed from parents to offspring through alleles.

A harmful condition caused by genetic information passed from parents to offspring.

A medical condition caused by one or more alleles inherited from a parent or parents.

A condition caused by particular alleles passed from parents to their offspring.

Money, property or other assets received from a previous generation rather than earned by the recipient.

Restraints that normally hold someone back from behaving in a particular way.

An effect on a neuron that makes it less likely to fire an electrical impulse.

A clear region around a disc on a bacterial culture where bacterial growth has been prevented.

The burial of a dead body, rather than its disposal by cremation.

The original amount spent on an investment project.

Giving a variable its first value.

The mass of a sample before it is placed in the test solution.

The rate of reaction at the beginning of a reaction, found from the gradient of a tangent at time zero.