LanguageofScience
Learningthelanguageofscienceisalotlikelearninganewlanguage.Scientistsoftenusescientific wordsforcommonwordsthatmostofusalreadyknow.Forexample,ascientistwillsay“neo” insteadof“new”or“pseudo”insteadof“fake”.Tolearnscience,youneedtoalsolearnthisnew language.Don’tworry,though.Thislistwillhelpyou. Justrememberthatmostwordscanbe brokenupintoaPREFIX(thebeginningoftheword)andaSUFFIX(theendoftheword).
Lookattheexampleonthenextpageforhelponhowtousethislist.
PREFIX LIST=beginnings
PREFIX
a-
ab- adipo- alb-
amphi-/amp-
andr- angio- ante- anthropo- anti-
aqua- arbor- arthro- aster- audi- auto-
bi-bio- bronch-
card- carn- cell-
cephalo- chlor- chrom- chron- coel-
com-/con-/co- contra-
cran-
cyt-
de- deca- derm- den- di-
dia-
dis-/dif-
MEANING without,lacking awayfrom
fat white
ofbothkinds
male
vessel(blood) before humans against
water tree jointed star
hear,sound self
two,twicelife, livingwindpipe (lungs)
heartmeat storeroom head
green
color time hollow
with,together against
head
cell
from,away ten
skin
tooth
two,double through,across apartfrom,deprive
PREFIX
e-/ef-/ex-
echin- ect-
en- encephal- epi-
extra-
gastro- gene- geo- glottis- gymno-
hepato- hetero- hiber- homo- hydro- hyper- hypo-
inter- intra- ichty- immunis-
leuc- lith- luna-
macro- meta- micro- mono- multi- morph-
neo- non- neur-
MEANING
out,outof,from
spiny outside in
brain
on,above outside,beyond
stomach origin,birth earth
mouthofwindpipe uncovered
liver different winter same,alike water
over,above
below,under,less
between
within,during,inside fish
free
white stone moon
large change small single many form
new not nerve
PREFIX oculo- odont- olf- omni- opthal-
oss-/ost-
phag- photo- plasm- pneumo- pre-
prot-/proto- pseudo-
retro- rota- rupt-
sub-
super-/sur-
tele- therm- trans- tri- trop-
ventr- uni-
zo-
MEANING
eye
tooth smell all eye bone
eat light form lungs before first
fake,false
backward,back turn,wheel break,burst
under,beneath above,upon
ata distance temperature across,beyond three
turning belly one animal
SUFFIX LIST=endings
SUFFIX
-able/-ible
-algia
-ectomy
-graph
-ism
-itis
-meter
-ology/-logy
-phyll
-pod/-ped
-scope
-sect
-sperm
MEANING
ableto,capableof pain
cutout
instrumentformakingrecords actof,condition
inflammation(swelling)ordisease measure
studyof,scienceof leaf
foot,feet
look,observe cut
seed
Exampleofhow touse this list
Word:TELESCOPE
Step1.LookupthefirstpartofthewordunderthePREFIXLIST
tele=ata distance
Step2.LookfortherestofthewordundertheSUFFIXLIST
scope=lookorobserve
So,thewholewordmeans“distance-look”ortolookatsomethingata distance.
Note
- Theorderofthewordsmaynotalwaysseemright;don’tworryaboutthat.
- Sometimesyoucanonlyfindonepartofawordbutthatcanbeagoodclueaboutthemeaning
- Youmayhaveextraletterslikeooraoribetweentwopartsofaword—theydon’tmeananything
- Ifyoudon’tseeawordinthesuffixlist,checktheprefixlist.Sometimes,wordscanbebotha prefixandasuffix.
Name Per Date
UsingtheLanguageofScienceprefixandsuffixlists,figureoutthemeaningsofthefollowingwords:
Example:cardiology–heartstudyorscience(studyoftheheart)
1. phototropism—
2. arthropod—
3. echinoderm—
4. epiglottis—
5. multicellular—
6. hypodermic—
7. anthropology—
8. hypothermic—
9. gymnosperm—
10. pseudopod—
11. photograph—
12. autograph—
13. neuralgia—
14. decapod—
15. hepatitis—
16. cytology—
17. zoology—
18. microbiology—
19. geology—
20. biology—
Noticethatseveralprefixescanmeanthesamething:
21. WhataretwoprefixesthatmeanONEorSINGLE?
22. WhataretwosuffixesthatmeanCUTorCUT OUT?
23. WhataretwoprefixesthatmeanABOVEorON?
24. WhataretwoprefixesthatmeanTWO?
Justknowingonepartofawordgivesyouacluetothewholeword:
25.Wouldyouwanttobe carefulwhentouchingananimalcalledanECHINDNA?YesNo
26. WhatdoesaCARNIVOREeat?
27. IsaNEONATEatinybabyoranoldperson?
28.IsaCRANIOTOMYaserioussurgery?YesNo
29. AnALBINOrabbitiswhatcolor?
30. DoesanAMPHIBIANliveonlandorwater?
31.IfamedicineisCONTRAINDICATEDforyou,shouldyoutakeit?YesNo
32. ADERMATOLOGISTworkswithwhatpartofthebody?
33. HowdoesatinyanimalcalledaROTIFERtravelthroughthewater?
(hint:lookuprota)
34. IfyouvisitedtheElysianParkARBORETUM,whatwouldyouexpecttosee?
35. In1969,wheredidtheLUNARmissionland?
36. WhatisanothernameforaCHRONOMETER?
37. Whydotheycallthissymbol(*)anASTERISK?