Year 10 Complete Revision Notes (November 2026)

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key definitions across Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Social Studies, English, and Mathematics from the Year 10 revision notes.

Cell membrane

Controls what enters and leaves the cell.

Cytoplasm

Where many chemical reactions take place in the cell.

Nucleus

Contains genetic information and controls cell activities.

Cell wall (plant)

Supports and strengthens the plant cell.

Chloroplast (plant)

Contains chlorophyll; absorbs light for photosynthesis.

Large permanent vacuole (plant)

Contains cell sap and helps maintain turgor in plant cells.

Diffusion

The net movement of particles from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration.

Osmosis

The net movement of water across a partially permeable membrane from a region of higher water potential to lower water potential.

Ingestion

Taking food into the body.

Digestion

Breaking food down.

Absorption

Digested nutrients pass into blood or lymph.

Assimilation

Cells use absorbed nutrients.

Egestion

Removal of undigested material.

Physical digestion

Breaks food into smaller pieces without changing the food molecules.

Chemical digestion

Uses enzymes to break large food molecules into smaller soluble molecules.

Bile

A substance produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder that emulsifies fats and helps neutralise acidic contents entering the small intestine.

Zygote

The cell formed when sperm and egg fuse; divides by mitosis as it develops.

Placenta

Exchanges substances between maternal and fetal blood supplies.

Amniotic sac

Contains fluid that cushions the developing baby.

Pollination

The transfer of pollen from anther to stigma.

Fertilisation (flowering plants)

The fusion of male and female gametes.

Distance

Total length of the path travelled; a scalar.

Displacement

Straight-line change in position with direction; a vector.

Speed

Distance travelled per unit time.

Velocity

Displacement per unit time; includes direction.

Acceleration

Change in velocity per unit time.

Resultant force

The vector sum of all forces acting on an object.

Thermal conduction

Energy transfers through particle interactions; mobile electrons also help transfer energy in metals.

Thermal convection

In fluids, warmer, less dense fluid rises and cooler, denser fluid sinks, creating circulation.

Thermal radiation

Energy transfers by electromagnetic waves; no medium is required.

Refraction

The change in direction of light when it changes speed as it passes between optical media.

Total internal reflection

Occurs when light travels from a higher refractive index medium to a lower refractive index medium and the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle.

Atomic number

The number of protons in an atom.

Mass number

The sum of protons and neutrons in an atom ($\text{protons} + \text{neutrons}$).

Isotopes

Atoms of the same element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Valence electrons

Electrons in the outer shell that help determine how an atom bonds.

Ionic bonding

Attraction between oppositely charged ions where electrons are transferred: metals commonly lose electrons to form positive ions, while non-metals commonly gain electrons to form negative ions.

Covalent bonding

Involves atoms sharing pairs of electrons, usually between non-metal atoms.

Catalyst

Changes the rate of a reaction without being used up overall by providing an alternative reaction pathway with lower activation energy.

Alkali

A soluble base that dissolves in water to produce hydroxide ions ($OH^-$).

Population pyramid

Shows the age and sex structure of a population.

Birth rate

The number of births per $1{,}000$ people per year.

Death rate

The number of deaths per $1{,}000$ people per year.

Natural increase

Birth rate minus death rate.

Carrying capacity

The population an environment can support over time with available resources.

Burgess model

An urban model featuring concentric zones arranged in rings around a central business district.

Hoyt model

An urban model featuring a sector pattern where land uses extend outwards in wedges, often along transport routes.

Harris model (multiple nuclei)

An urban model featuring several centres or nodes of activity rather than one single centre.

Truman Doctrine

US policy of supporting countries resisting communist pressure.

Marshall Plan

US economic aid programme to help rebuild European countries after World War II.

Simile

A comparison using 'like' or 'as'.

Metaphor

Describes one thing as another.

Personification

Gives human qualities to non-human things.

Highest common factor (HCF)

The largest factor shared by two or more numbers.