Science Terms Made Easy: A Lexicon of Scientific Words And Their Root Language Origins

Understanding the terms used in science is important in order to succeed in science - students at all levels need to quickly recognize terminology in order to do well in the lab, on tests, and in the real world of the working scientist. But this terminology can be confusing because so much of it conists of combinations of roots, prefixes, and suffixes from other languages, primarily Latin and Greek, and students are often required to waste precious class time in rote memorization. Science Terms Made Easy is a dictionary of several thousand common science terms that are broken down into their component parts. Students using the work will soon learn the meaning of common suffixes, prefixes and roots, and they will begin to quickly understand the meaning of scientific terminology without resorting to memorization or frequently referring to standard dictionaries.

Joseph S. Elias is an Associate Professor of Science Education at the Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. He holds a B.S. in biology (Kutztown University, 1971), a M.S. in science education (Temple University, 1976), and a doctorate in science education (Temple University, 1989). He has been teaching pre-service secondary education science majors for over 14 years. He also is a university supervisor of secondary education clinical students and teacher interns. Dr. Elias teaches in the graduate school at Kutztown University as well. His graduate courses include methods of research in biology and methods of teaching science to middle and high school students. Prior to teaching at Kutztown University, Dr. Elias taught as an adjunct faculty member in the biology departments of Cedar Crest College and the Lehigh Carbon Community College.