Hi Helen, I think 'term' is a word for a period of time. In my university, we had two "semesters" each year- the Fall semester started in August and finished in December, and the Spring semester started in January and finished in April or May. (We also had a summer semester) I think you can use both words, but in the United States, I think the word "semester" is more common. I hope that helps!

Term can mean a semester, trimester, or quarter. Look it really depends on where you go to school. Some have a semester system and some a quarter system. I'm sorry I wish I could give you a more straightforward and simple answer.

semester = term

Here, there are two semesters in a year and two terms in a semester. A course usually runs for one semester at university.