Key terms & definitions

An instrument that displays how an electrical signal changes with time; microphone signals can be used to measure sound arrival times.

A detailed map produced by Ordnance Survey showing physical and human features of the landscape, including relief and transport routes.

A cell that detects changes in the concentration of body fluids.

The regulation of water and dissolved ion levels in body fluids.

The net movement of water through a partially permeable membrane from a dilute solution to a more concentrated solution.

The net movement of water through a partially permeable membrane from a dilute solution to a more concentrated solution.

A change in the balance of water and dissolved substances, such as salts, in body fluids.

Three small bones that carry vibrations from the eardrum towards the inner ear.

Softening of adult bones, which can result from vitamin D deficiency.

A condition in which bones become less dense and more fragile, increasing the risk of fractures.

A condition in which bones lose density and become fragile, increasing the risk of fractures.

Willy Brandt’s ‘eastern policy’, which sought to improve West Germany’s relations with East Germany and other communist states through negotiation and agreements.

An Athenian vote that could send a citizen into exile for ten years without a criminal conviction.

The exclusion of a person from a group or community.

A piece of broken pottery on which a citizen wrote the name of the man he wished to have ostracised. The plural is ostraka.

A person or group represented as different from those treated as familiar, normal or belonging.

Treating people as outsiders who are fundamentally different from an assumed normal or accepted group.

Reliance on Amitabha's compassion and vows rather than on one's own spiritual effort alone; known as tariki in Japanese.

Leisure or freedom from public business. In Pliny’s ideal, this time could be used productively for reading, writing and reflection rather than inactivity.

The empire ruled by the Ottoman sultan, centred on modern-day Turkey; it fought alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary in the First World War.

The result or event whose relationship with a factor is being investigated.

A possible result of a probability experiment, such as the spinner landing on red.

A possible result of a probability experiment, such as heads on a coin toss.

A result achieved by an action, such as a reply from a decision-maker or increased understanding of an issue.

A target focused on the final result of a sporting contest, such as winning.

A rectangular arrangement in which the row and column headings are combined to enumerate outcomes from two events or choices.

A branching diagram in which each route from the start to an endpoint represents one complete outcome of a multistage process.

Obtaining a shared, limited resource more successfully than another species, reducing the resources available to that species.

An area where a particular rock unit occurs at the surface.

The movement of genes from a crop into other crops or related wild plants through reproduction.