Key terms & definitions

Hardware that reads data from or writes data to a storage medium. Some devices contain their medium; others use removable media.

The physical material on which data is stored, such as an optical disc.

The skeleton's function of storing minerals, such as calcium, and releasing them when the body needs them.

A place where water is held temporarily, such as vegetation, soil, a lake or underground rock.

A part of a cycle in which a substance is held, such as the atmosphere, an ocean, soil or living biomass.

The amount of energy held in a particular energy store, such as a chemical, kinetic or thermal energy store.

The principle that a program's instructions are held in memory so that the CPU can fetch and execute them.

A graph showing how river discharge changes during and after a period of rainfall, usually with rainfall bars on the same time axis.

An abnormal rise in sea level during a storm that can flood coastal land.

Specially trained German assault troops who advanced through weak points in enemy lines and bypassed strong defensive positions.

The complete sequence of events in a narrative world, including events shown directly and those the spectator infers, arranged chronologically.

An angle measuring $180^\circ$, formed by two opposite rays with a common endpoint.

An immediate transition from one shot to another, without a fade or dissolve.

The standard form of a non-vertical straight-line equation, where $m$ is the gradient and $c$ is the $y$-intercept.

A graph made from all coordinate pairs that satisfy a linear equation; it has a constant gradient.

The way of faith and right conduct guided by Allah, which Muslims ask to follow in Surah al-Fatiha.

A genetically distinct form within a species, such as a bacterial form with resistance to a particular antibiotic.

A genetically different form of a microorganism within a species.

An overstretching or tearing of a muscle or tendon.

Pressure arising from a gap between socially valued goals and a person’s opportunities to achieve them through legitimate means.

Merton’s explanation that pressure towards deviance arises when culturally encouraged goals are not matched by access to socially approved ways of achieving them.

A narrow passage of water connecting two larger bodies of water.

A narrow stretch of sea between areas of land. At Salamis, restricted sea-room helped prevent the larger Persian fleet from using its numerical advantage.

The narrow sea passage connecting the Gulf of Aqaba to the Red Sea, used by shipping travelling to and from Israel.

One of the two long, continuous chains that form a DNA molecule.

A short line beneath a headline that adds information or summarises the article’s angle.

The missile-defence programme announced by President Reagan in March 1983, intended to intercept incoming nuclear missiles and popularly called ‘Star Wars’.

Reagan’s proposed missile-defence programme, announced in 1983, which included developing space-based technology to intercept incoming nuclear missiles.

A programme introduced in South Vietnam in 1962 that relocated rural people into fortified settlements, aiming to separate them from the Vietcong and strengthen support for Diem.

A programme that moved South Vietnamese peasants into fortified settlements to separate them from the Vietcong.