Key terms & definitions

System software that performs a particular task to maintain, protect, troubleshoot or improve a computer system.

Software tools that maintain the functionality of a computer, for example by protecting data or improving storage performance.

An imagined ideal society. Old Major’s vision is of animals living freely and equally, without human exploitation.

An additive used in a polymer to help it resist damage caused by ultraviolet radiation.

A coating that is hardened using ultraviolet light, applied across a whole surface or only to selected areas.

A coating for paper or board that is cured using ultraviolet light, often to create a glossy finish.

A pilotless, jet-propelled flying bomb used against London from June 1944, nicknamed the ‘doodlebug’ or ‘buzz bomb’.

A ballistic missile used against London from September 1944. It travelled through the upper atmosphere before descending towards its target, giving civilians little warning.

Giving a preparation that stimulates protection against a disease. Jenner’s smallpox vaccination used material from cowpox sores rather than smallpox itself.

The process of administering a vaccine to create immunity to a pathogen.

Introducing material from a pathogen into the body to stimulate an immune response and protect against future infection. In the GCSE model, small quantities of dead or inactive pathogens are used.

A preparation containing a small quantity of dead or inactive forms of a pathogen, or parts of it, which stimulates an immune response.

A preparation containing harmless forms of a pathogen, or its antigens, that stimulates an immune response and provides protection against a particular disease.

The proportion of a population that receives a vaccine.

A fluid-filled space in a plant cell that contains cell sap and helps keep the cell rigid.

A region containing no matter.

A region containing no matter. Electromagnetic waves can travel through it without needing particles to carry them.

Shaping a heated thermoplastic sheet over a former by removing air beneath it so that atmospheric pressure presses it against the former.

Removing air from a food pack and sealing it to reduce oxygen exposure and inhibit oxygen-dependent microbial growth.

A Voluntary Aid Detachment: a unit of volunteers trained and organised by the Red Cross and St John Ambulance to support medical services. During the First World War, women volunteers undertook nursing support and other hospital duties.

A person who travelled from place to place without settled employment. Tudor authorities often associated vagabonds with begging, idleness and disorder.

Moving from place to place without a settled home or regular employment, often surviving through begging.

A historical label for moving from place to place without settled employment or a permanent home. Tudor authorities often associated it with disorder.

A person without a settled home or regular employment who moved from place to place, sometimes seeking work or begging; also called a vagabond.

The spiritual abode or realms of Vishnu, where devotees worship and serve him eternally.

The festival celebrated in April which combines thanksgiving for the harvest with commemoration of Guru Gobind Singh’s founding of the Khalsa in 1699.

A Hindu who worships Vishnu or his avatars, such as Krishna, as the supreme deity.

A Hindu tradition that worships Vishnu and his avatars, especially Rama and Krishna, as supreme.

A Buddhist discourse in which the Buddha teaches the sick monk Vakkali that truly seeing him means seeing the Dhamma.

The closing expression at the end of a letter, such as ‘Yours faithfully’.