THE LANGUAGE OF
SCIENCE
Making sense of words like
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoc
oniosis
WHY DO WE CARE?
How does it help me?
• Helps with tests
Language of
Science
• Helps when studying
• Reduced stress
Language of science
• How do we make sense of words like
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
• The same way you eat steak
• We need to break it down into smaller bites.
• We call those bites prefixes and suffixes
Language of Science
Prefix
• Grammar. an affix placed
before a word, base, or
another prefix to modify a
term's meaning.*
• Something that you put in
front of a word to change
it.
Suffix
• Grammar . an affix that
follows the element to
which it is added.*
• Something that comes
after a word to change it.
Language of Science
Prefix Examples
Suffix Examples
• Organize + re =
• Kind + ly = Kindly
Reorganize
• In + active = Inactive
• Fore + warn = Forewarn
• Dog + s = Dogs
• Gentle + ness =
Gentleness
LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE
Using Prefixes and Suffixes to decode
Language of Science
• We can take a complicated word and break it up into its
different parts
• Look for prefixes and suffixes
• Once we know what the prefixes and suffixes mean we
can guess at the meaning
Language of Science
• We start with a word like
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
• Then we break it up into prefixes and suffixes
• Pneumono-ultra-micro-scopic-silico-volcano-coni-osis
• Pnuemono – Lung
• Ultra – far side of, beyond
• Micro – extremely small
• Scopic – range of view
• Silico – has to do with silicon
• Volcano - Inflammation
• Con - with
• Osis – actions, conditions or states
Language of Science
• Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
• An inflammation of the lungs caused by inhaling ultramicroscopic
(really really small) silicon
LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE
Putting it into practice
Language of Science
Mesoderm
Language of Science
Hyperthermic
Language of Science
Hydrometer
Language of Science
Benthoscope
Language of Science
Neolith
Language of Science
Hydrolysis
Language of Science
Equate
Language of Science
Electrophoresis
Language of Science
Photograph
Language of Science
Terraform
Language of Science References
• Dictionary.com - Free Online English Dictionary. (n.d.).
Dictionary.com - Free Online English Dictionary. Retrieved
August 24, 2013, from http://dictionary.reference.com/
• Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia. Retrieved August 24, 2013, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilic
ovolcanoconiosis
• The Biology Corner. (n.d.). The Biology Corner. Retrieved
August 24, 2013, from http://www.biologycorner.com/