Big Word: ‘ologies

Sometimes it seems that scientists have a language all to their own! Learning how to decode big words in Biology can help make learning easier and more fun. Once you start investigating some of the big words you encounter, some patterns may become clear. For instance, a word that means “the study of” something usually ends in “ology”. The beginning of the word is often derived from Greek or Latin.

  • Biology comes from bio (life) + ology (knowledge) = the study of life
  • Herpetology comes from herpe (crawling things) + ology = the study of reptiles and amphibians
  • Ichthyology comes from Ichthy (fish) + ology = the study of fish

Can you figure out the meaning of these big science words?

  • Dendrology – the study of trees <—— Highlight space to see answer
  • Volcanology – the study of volcanoes <—— Highlight space to see answer
  • Paleontology – the study of fossils <—— Highlight space to see answer

When you think you know the answer, click and drag your mouse over the words to reveal the definitions.

4 responses to Big Word: ‘ologies

  1. Larry says:

    If you are having trouble seeing the answers, make sure you are highlighting the space to the right of the words.Click with your mouse and drag across the space to reveal a definition.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Does that mean “Marmotology” is the study of groundhogs!?

  3. Larry says:

    Given the groundhog’s scientific name is Marmota monax I think marmotology would be a good guess for the study of groundhogs. If you are really obsessed with groundhogs like a friend of mine 🙂 you might be suffering from Marmotaphilia.

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