Key terms & definitions

Rules setting standards for construction, which can require features that reduce the risk of buildings collapsing during an earthquake.

A written agreement specifying work to be undertaken and the obligations of those involved; it records intended work, not necessarily its completion.

How closely buildings are packed together in an area.

Changing an existing building so that it serves a different purpose or community.

Human-made surroundings, including buildings, streets, towns and ports.

Designing a product to have a limited useful life or to become outdated, encouraging its replacement.

Deliberately designing a product to have a limited useful or desirable life, encouraging its replacement.

A pre-existing subprogram available directly in a programming language without importing a library module.

An area whose character is dominated by features constructed by people, such as buildings and roads.

The volume occupied by each gram of paper, usually measured in cubic centimetres per gram. It is the inverse of density.

Purchasing a large quantity at once, often at a lower price per unit.

Material present on an ordinary large scale, such as a lump or a powder containing a very large number of atoms.

A property of a large sample of material, such as its melting point, rather than a property of one individual atom or molecule.

A property of a substance as a whole, such as its melting point, boiling point or electrical conductivity.

An entertainment in which a bull was restrained and attacked by dogs while spectators watched.

The pushing of loose rock and sediment ahead of a moving glacier's snout.

Gold or silver held as precious metal rather than as finished goods.

Repeated, deliberate behaviour that hurts, intimidates or humiliates someone, often involving an imbalance of power. It can be physical, verbal, social or online.

The federal council representing the governments of the German states, which shared responsibility for approving legislation with the Reichstag.

The armed forces established by West Germany in 1955.

A gas burner with an adjustable air hole used to heat apparatus in a laboratory.

The responsibility to prove an allegation. In a criminal trial, this normally rests with the prosecution.

The officials and administrative organisations responsible for putting government decisions into practice.

An organisational system involving a hierarchy of officials, specialised responsibilities and formal rules and procedures.

Authority attached to an official position within a bureaucracy and exercised according to formal rules; a form of legal rational authority.

The US government agency responsible for administering relations with Indigenous peoples and managing reservations.

A graduated tube with a tap that delivers and measures a variable volume of solution.

A town resident with recognised citizenship rights and privileges.

A fortified Anglo-Saxon town intended to protect a whole community from attack.

Fortified towns used to protect territory against attack.