Thanks for your replies everyone. I shall try to be as thorough as I can in learning all the basics before my next meeting with my supervisor, and the next time I don't know something, I'll just admit it. :)

I just had a really awkward and embarrassing meeting with my supervisor where he exposed all the gaps in my knowledge and asked a lot of questions that I didn't know the answer to. And of course instead of just admitting that I didn't know and promising to find out I attempted made-up answers that he saw right through. I have now been sent away with a list of textbooks that I have to read in order to 'understand the basics'. :(