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Understanding Roots Gives Shoots of Knowledge
Something we go over and over in class is the relationship between the words we use in Biology and their Latin and Greek roots. There is a massive vocabulary to use in Biology*, and if you learn to break down words into their components, you might get a better understanding of the meaning behind them.
It’s a code – and if you can crack it, you can even make a good guess at the meaning of many unknown words in exam papers, textbooks and articles. Language should not be a barrier to Biology students – even those who are ESL learners.
Revision tip for the semester exams: Build a vocab list for each subtopic and rather than just define the terms, break them into their components. Can you use the roots in another word or sentence?
Here is a nice SlideShare presentation on how Greek and Latin roots aid understanding:
More resources:
Basic Greek and Latin for understanding science and medicine, Tim Moors
Glossary of Greek and Latin Roots in Science, Exploring Science Site
Greek and Latin Roots in English, Wikipedia
A multitude of lesson plans for vocabulary, from vocabulary-lesson-plans.com
Interestingly, in modern science and media, some words are formed from compounds of Greek and Latin. Here is a classic quote from C.P. Snow: “Television. The word is half-Greek and half-Latin; no good can come of it.”
*I heard a quote once that there was more vocab in HL Biology than in a Language B subject. It would be cool to find out how true that is. Can anyone estimate the number of vocabulary terms learned by a Biology student?
2000 year-old Greek “computer” recreated
A British curator has recreated an ancient proto-computer, the Antikythera device, based on 2000 year-old salvaged parts, X-ray tomography and huge patience – and got it to work!
As you can see in the NewScientist video, it was an example of a mechanical computer – designed to pr
edict the relative positions of the planets, chart astrology and count down to the Olympics.It shows us just how advanced Greek science was, and makes us wonder – what would have happened if this technology had not been lost? Would the Greeks have been playing Spore in 200AD?
Some questions to think about:
– What makes this a computer?
– What sets it apart from an old alarm clock?
– Where do you think we would be now if this knowledge hadn’t been lost?
i-Biology 