science

Téarma

Téarma is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Téarma rather than just read about it. In short: Tearma.ie (previously Focal.ie) is the website of a lexical database for terminology in the Irish language. It is funded by the Irish state and Interreg and maintained by Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, the Irish-language unit of Dublin City University, in collaboration with the Terminology Committee of Foras na Gaeilge.

Key takeaways

Téarma belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Téarma to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Téarma from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Tearma.ie (previously Focal.ie) is the website of a lexical database for terminology in the Irish language. It is funded by the Irish state and Interreg and maintained by Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, the Irish-language unit of Dublin City University, in collaboration with the Terminology Committee of Foras na Gaeilge.

History Phase I (2004–7) of the work consisted of digitising and integrating existing paper and electronic lists. Several resources have been added under subsequent phases. A dictionary of 10,000 sports terms has been added as well as tools for translation memories and other resources for translators including a link facility to The New Corpus for Ireland. Phase IV (2011–14) of the project had the following objectives:

To implement a new domain hierarchy, based on DANTERM (the Danish terminology standard); To create definitions for some terms; To compile a new dictionary of arts terms; To complete the new dictionary of sports terms; Publication of a CD-ROM version of the database; To develop a mobile web version. In 2015, the site was moved from focal.ie to tearma.ie, to better distinguish it from focloir.ie, a separate government-supported website with general-purpose English-Irish dual-language dictionaries.

Users The database contains over 325,000 terms, searchable under both Irish and English versions. More than 880,000 unique visitors have used the website between 2006 and 2011. They have made 3.9 million visits and 25 million searches in that time. According to a 2010 user survey carried out by Fiontar, the site is primarily used by translators and interpreters and by university students.

Awards Focal.ie won the European Language Label in 2007, and the award for "Best Irish-language Site" at the Irish Web Awards 2008.

Footnotes

References

External links www.tearma.ie, An Bunachar Náisiúinta Téarmaíochta don Ghaeilge/The National Terminology Database for Irish home page

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Téarma

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Téarma claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Téarma before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Téarma ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Téarma

In research: Téarma appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Téarma in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Téarma is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Databases in the Republic of Ireland, Irish language, Lexical databases, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Téarma outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Téarma in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Téarma means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Téarma out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Téarma in simple terms?

Why does Téarma matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Téarma?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Téarma.