Scientific name: vicugna pacos
An altar is a sacred place, often inside a church or shrine, where religious ceremonies take place.
Alum could refer to either a specific mineral, or a general class of similar ones. ( /?æl?m/) is both a specific chemical compound and a class of chemical compounds. The mineral usually referred to as alum is hydrated potassium aluminium sulfate.
Alum is an effective blood coagulant, and used to be sold in blocks as part of shaving kits. You use it to stop shaving cuts from bleeding.
Aluminium, also spelt aluminum, is the most common metal in the world, and the third most common element (after oxygen and silicon). It is durable and lightweight, and is a very important metal for making planes out of.
Aluminium is highly reactive and you cannot find pure aluminium in the same way you can find pure gold or copper, so it was once considered a rare precious metal. It is a very energy intensive process to refine aluminium.
Aluminium is used for building (particularly frames for doors and windows) and vehicle construction, household aluminium foil, masts on ships, walking sticks, and lots of household utensils and appliances.
Scientific name: lobularia maritima
Alyssum is a small, annual plant that grows to about 20cm high. It is sometimes known as sweet alyssum or sweet Alison. It flowers for most of the year, and makes a pretty ground cover. It has bundles of tiny flowers in shades of white, purple and pink. Alyssum copes well with heat, drought and frost and is a very hardy cottage garden plant.
Scientific name: genus: amaranthus
Amaranths are a large group of plants that include some fast-growing weeds. Some varieties of amaranth, particularly the grain amaranth, grow a large crop of highly-nutritious seeds, and are sometimes referred to as the 'crop of the future'.
Some species of amaranth have edible leaves and can be cooked or eaten raw as a salad vegetable.
Amber is fossilised tree resin. It is a deep orange colour, and sometimes has insects trapped in it.
An ambulance is a type of van that is used to take sick or injured people to a hospital or doctor's surgery. Ambulances often have emergency equipment in them so ambulance officers can save people's lives when they arrive instead of just driving them to the hospital. Ambulances are also used to take people from one hospital to another.
The word 'ambulance' is written backwards on the front of an ambulance so people in cars can read the writing in their rear view mirrors.
