Key terms & definitions

White Anglo-Saxon Protestant: a label associated with Americans of British Protestant ancestry.

Materials, products or other resources lost because output is faulty, damaged or otherwise unusable.

A manufacturing approach that removes material to obtain the required shape or size.

A shaping process that removes material, for example sawing, drilling or milling.

Material that is unwanted after a product or resource has been used.

Resources or activities that add unnecessary costs or delays without adding value for the customer, such as excess stock, waiting time or defective products.

Extra material included in a quantity calculation to cover losses such as cutting waste, trimming or mixing residue.

An informal description of energy transferred into stores where it is not wanted and is less useful, rather than energy that has disappeared.

Energy transferred in ways that do not serve the intended purpose. It still exists, but is often spread through the surroundings.

An energy transfer that does not contribute to the intended outcome of a process.

Energy transferred in ways that do not achieve a system’s intended purpose, often spreading into the surroundings by heating.

Removing or treating unwanted materials, including waste that cannot be reused or recycled.

Water containing unwanted substances as a result of domestic, agricultural or industrial use.

Water that has been used in homes, agriculture or industry and contains waste substances that may need removing.

A process that removes unwanted material from a workpiece to produce the required size or shape.

Ordinary citizens responsible for patrolling streets and apprehending suspected wrongdoers before the development of a professional police force.

William Paley’s comparison of the purposeful arrangement of a watch with the complexity of nature: just as a watch suggests a watchmaker, nature suggests a designer.

The removal of water from a river, lake or underground store for human use.

The amount of usable water that people can access in a place at a particular time.

A container of water used to warm a sample gently and more evenly than a direct flame.

A container of water used to warm a sample indirectly, rather than placing the sample over a flame.

A container of heated water used to warm another container gently rather than heating it directly with a flame.

An illness spread through contaminated water, such as cholera.

Spread of a pathogen through water that someone drinks or uses to prepare food.

A flushing toilet, also called a water closet.

Reducing water use and waste so that available supplies last longer.

The use of water by households, farming, industry and other activities.

The continuous movement of water between the atmosphere, land, seas and living organisms.

The continuous movement of water between the atmosphere, land, bodies of water and living organisms.

A situation in which demand for water exceeds the available supply.