Key terms & definitions

The program instructions written by a programmer, before translation or interpretation.

A method of obtaining funds to start a business, support its day-to-day activities or finance investment and growth.

A device that provides a potential difference between its terminals, such as a cell or battery.

The pole of a freely suspended magnet that points approximately towards geographic south, labelled S.

The authority to govern a territory. Britain and Argentina disputed which country should exercise this authority over the Falkland Islands.

A country's authority to govern itself and make its own decisions.

Supreme authority to rule a state or community.

The authority of a state to govern itself and make decisions, including laws.

A council of workers' and soldiers' representatives. In 1917, soviets exercised political influence and challenged the authority of the Provisional Government.

An order issued by the Petrograd Soviet to the Petrograd garrison in March 1917. It required obedience to orders from the Duma’s Military Commission only when they did not contradict Soviet orders and placed weapons under soldiers’ committee control.

One of the constituent territories of the USSR, with its own republican government but subject to central Soviet authority.

Councils of workers, soldiers or peasants. The Kronstadt rebels wanted freely elected soviets rather than councils dominated by the Bolsheviks.

A farm owned and run directly by the state.

A resort where visitors drink or bathe in mineral-rich spring water believed to benefit their health.

A diagonal joining opposite vertices of a three-dimensional solid through its interior.

A three-dimensional molecular representation using touching or overlapping spheres to show the space occupied by atoms.

The spiritual inner space in which the divine can be encountered. This belief allows worship wherever a person is, rather than only in a sacred building.

Competition between the USA and USSR to achieve major advances in space exploration and demonstrate technological and ideological strength.

A telescope placed beyond Earth’s atmosphere to observe radiation from space.

The Spanish invasion fleet sent by Philip II against England in 1588.

The mainland shores of the Caribbean where Spain established settlements and extended its empire, distinguished from the Caribbean islands.

The number of employees who report directly to a particular manager.

A brief movement of electric charge through the air between objects.

A member of the revolutionary communist Spartacist League, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, which opposed the new German republic and participated in the January 1919 rising in Berlin.

A German revolutionary communist group led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, associated with the January 1919 uprising in Berlin.

A full male citizen of Sparta, belonging to the privileged group whose lives centred on military training, service and politics.

Examining location-based data to identify patterns and relationships and draw useful conclusions.

A change in where something occurs or in the area it affects.

Information linked to a particular location, allowing its geographical distribution to be mapped and investigated.

The pattern of where something occurs across an area, including differences between places.