The Language of Science

Name ______Period ______Date ______

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The Language of Science

Applying Concepts

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Etymology is the study of the origin and the development of words. Many scientific words are made up of roots, prefixes, and suffixes that have Latin and Greek origins. In this activity, you will examine the parts of some scientific words.

You can often out find the meaning of a scientific word by recalling the meanings of each of these parts. For example, the word biology comes from the Greek word bio, meaning “life,” and –ology, meaning “the study of.” Therefore, the word biology means “the study of life.”

Below is a chart that shows the prefixes, suffixes, and the meanings of some scientific words. Complete the chart by filling in the blanks.

Scientific Word / Latin Prefix / English Meaning / Latin Suffix / English Meaning / English Definition
Ana- / Away / -tomy / cut / study of parts of the body
Cardiogram / Cardio- / record / drawing of the heart's movements
Encephalitis / Encephal- / Brain / inflammation
Exoskeleton / Outside / -skeleton / bony support system
Herbivorous / Herbi- / eating / plant eating
Homeostasis / Same. Like / -stasis / standing, stopping / maintenance of stable internal environments
Hypertension / Above / -tension / stress, pressure
Hypo- / Below, less than normal / -dermic / skin / injection beneath the skin
Intra- / Within / -stellar / within a star
Protozoan / First / -zoan / first animal
Pseudopod / False / foot / false foot
Sarcoplasm / Sarco- / Flesh, muscle / Formation
Tonsillectomy / Tonsil- / Tonsil / cut out
Scientific Word / Latin Prefix / English Meaning / Latin Suffix / English Meaning / English Definition
Histology / tissue / -ology / study of
Psycho- / mind, mental process / kinetic / movement of objects / movement of objects by the mind
Aerodynamics / Aero- / air / active force / study of air acting on bodies of motion
Arterio- / -scerlosis / hardening / hardening of the arteries
Neurology / Neuro- / -ology / study of the nervous system
Microscope / Micro- / instrument for viewing / instrument for viewing small objects
Cytology / cell / -ology / study of cells
Protoplasm / Proto- / formation / first formation
Biology / Bio- / life
Hemologist / Hemo- / blood / -ologist / one who studies
Archeo- / ancient, primitive / -ology
Arthro- / joint, jointed / foot / jointed foot
Anthro- / of man / study of / study of man
Arthritis / Arthr- / inflammation of
Herbicide / killing
Carnivore / Carni- / -vore / a meat-eater
Hepatitis / Liver / inflammation of the liver
Ecology / Environment / -ology / Study of the environment
Dermatologist / Derma / -ologist / one who studies

Using the Roots Reference Sheet word lists, figure out the meanings of the following words:

Example: cardiology – heart study or science (study of the heart)

1.  arthritis—

2.  arthropod—

3.  echinoderm—

4.  epiglottis—

5.  dysplasia—

6.  hypodermic—

7.  anthropology—

8.  hypothermic—

9.  gymnosperm—

10.  pseudopod—

11.  photograph—

12.  hypertrophy—

13.  neuralgia—

14.  decapod—

15.  hepatitis—

16.  cytology—

17.  zoology—

18.  microbiology—

19.  geology—

20.  biology—

Notice that several prefixes can mean the same thing:

21.  What are two prefixes that mean ONE or SINGLE? ______

22.  What are two suffixes that mean CUT or CUT OUT? ______

23.  What are two prefixes that mean ABOVE or ON? ______

24.  What are two prefixes that mean TWO? ______

Just knowing one part of a word gives you a clue to the whole word:

25.  Would you want to be careful when touching an animal called an ECHINDNA? Yes No

26.  What does a CARNIVORE eat? ______

27.  Is a NEONATE a tiny baby or an old person? ______

28.  Is a CRANIOTOMY a serious surgery? Yes No

29.  An ALBINO rabbit is what color? ______

30.  Does an AMPHIBIAN live on land or water? ______

31.  If a medicine is CONTRAINDICATED for you, should you take it? Yes No

32.  A DERMATOLOGIST works with what part of the body? ______

33.  How does a tiny animal called a ROTIFER travel through the water? ______(hint: look up roto-)

34.  If you visited the Elysian Park ARBORETUM, what would you expect to see? ______

35.  In 1969, where did the LUNAR mission land? ______

36.  What is another name for a CHRONOMETER? ______

37.  Why do they call this symbol (*) an ASTERISK? ______