Breaking Down and
Building Vocab Words
How to make sense of those huge science words and even
make up some of your own.
S
Roots
S Group of letters to which prefixes and suffixes
can be added to change its meaning
S Examples:
S -derm- = skin
S -annu- = year
S -phag- = eat
Prefixes
S Group of letters added to the beginning of a
word that changes the meaning of the word
S Examples:
S tele- = distant
S micro- = small
S anti- = against
Suffixes
S Group of letters added to the end of a word
that changes the meaning of the word
S Examples:
S -less = without
S -meter = measurement
S -phobia = fear of
Rule #1
1.
Use the biggest prefix or suffix you can
Example: For the word anthropomorphic…
use “anthropo” not “an”
Rule #2
2. You cannot add letters to your word
to make a prefix or suffix work
Example: For the word fracas…
you are not allowed to add a “t” to use the
prefix “fract”
Rule #3
3.
Leftover letters in your word are OK
Example: For the word dinosaur…
you would use the prefix “din” and the
suffix “saur” leaving the “o” in the middle
leftover
Putting it all together
S Use your prefixes and suffixes to find the meaning of the
following word…
pachyderm
pachy = thick
derm = skin
pachyderm = thick skin
Practice
S Try these terms on your own…
aquarium
aqu = water
arium = a place for
aquarium = a place for water
psychology
psych = mind
logy = the study of
psychology = the study of the mind
More practice
S Try these on your own…
Flexible
hexagon
pterodactyl
aerodynamic