Key terms & definitions

A device with primary and secondary coils wound around an iron core that changes an alternating potential difference.

A device that changes the potential difference of an alternating electrical supply.

An organism containing genetic material introduced from a different species by genetic engineering.

The state of lasting only briefly. In the poem, the berries’ freshness suggests that pleasure cannot be preserved indefinitely.

A population whose members stay in a place temporarily rather than settling there permanently, such as sailors passing through a port.

A tiny electronic switch controlled by electricity.

A semiconductor component that can act as an electronic switch or amplifier. In a bipolar transistor, a small base current controls a larger collector current.

A radio using small electronic components called transistors instead of bulky valves, allowing sets to be smaller and more portable.

A word or phrase that helps the reader move between ideas by indicating a relationship such as contrast, sequence or consequence.

A metal in the central region of the periodic table; many transition elements form ions with different charges, form coloured compounds and are useful as catalysts.

A metal from the central block of the periodic table; its compounds are often coloured.

Expressing the meaning of a text in another language; translation from Arabic into Latin helped European scholars access scientific and mathematical knowledge.

The stage of protein synthesis in which the sequence of bases in mRNA determines the sequence of amino acids joined into a polypeptide at a ribosome.

A transformation that moves every point by the same distance in the same direction, without turning, reflecting or resizing the shape.

A transformation that adds the same fixed amount to every data value, including subtracting an amount.

Changing information from one representation into another while preserving its scientific meaning.

Software that translates program source code so its instructions can be executed by a processor.

Writing a name or word from one script using the letters of another, rather than translating its meaning.

The movement of dissolved food molecules, particularly sugars, through phloem to other parts of a plant.

The movement of dissolved sugars through phloem tissue to parts of a plant where they are used or stored.

The property of allowing some light through a material. Very translucent paper allows underlying drawing lines to be seen for tracing.

Allowing light through, but scattering it so that objects behind the material are not seen clearly.

An object that transmits light but scatters it, so objects cannot be seen clearly through it.

Migration through an intermediate country on the way to a further destination.

The passage of the soul from one bodily life to another.

The transfer of a pathogen from one organism or source to another organism.

The passage of a wave through a material.

The passage of radiation through a material.

The process by which a text reaches later readers through copying, editing and translation.

An electron microscope that transmits electrons through a thin specimen to produce a high-resolution image of its internal structures.