Vocabulary.com - Science History: Inventors & Scientists Vocabulary Puzzles

Science History: Inventors & Scientists Vocabulary Puzzles

"Hi, I'm Dick Shinary, Chancellor of Literacy at Vocabulary University.

In this feature please study words related to inventors and scientists. Roots examined include:
Puzzle #1 - CAND = white, bright; LUMEN = light; PAT = lie or stand open; FILUM = thread, string
Puzzle #2 - DEM = people; FERV = boil; MICRO = small; CUB = lie down, sit
Puzzle #3 - LABOR = work; INSULA = island; VACO = empty; PULS = drive

Use the roots to "unlock" the word meaning. Type in and submit the 12 answers (4 in each puzzle) to the Rooty® puzzles in the boxes BELOW the puzzle and use the "submit" button after the third puzzle. You will get immediate feedback in the form of the correct answers and the use of each word in context.
There is an Assessment: Fill-in-the-Blank Sentences Exercise at the bottom of the page. There will be more "Inventors & Scientists" puzzles and activities soon. Thanks for your patience!"

A short biography of Thomas Edison's accomplishments:

Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) was the seventh and last child of his family. A prolific (and perhaps the greatest) inventor, his first invention was the vote recorder in 1869. Subsequently, he invented the electric light, mimeograph machine and phonograph. He helped improve the motion picture camera & projector (sound movie camera patented in 1891) and the stock ticker. He developed the first alkaline storage batteries in 1914. The holder of more than 100 patents, this famous quote is attributed to him," Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Known as the "Wizard of Menlo Park" he established his New Jersey office there in 1876.

Puzzle #1 - Directions

Puzzle #1 "text": 4 words relate to Thomas Alva Edison:

Answer 1:--12 letter adjective--root is CAND = white, bright -- word means: *** glowing or white with heat
Answer 2:--8 letter adjective--root is LUMEN = light -- word means: *** radiating or reflecting light; shining; lighted up
Answer 3:--6 letter noun--root is PATERE = to stand wide open -- word means: *** the exclusive right granted to an inventor to manufacture or sell an invention for a specified number of years
Answer 4:--8 letter noun--root is FILUM = thread, string -- word means: *** very fine thread or the threadlike conductor, often made of tungsten, that is heated brightly by the passage of current

PUZZLE #1 - Rooty*Hoot*Hoot® - Answer Sheet

Your answer 1
Your answer 2
Your answer 3
Your answer 4

"Hi, I'm Cinny Nym, Dean of Faculty at Vocabulary University."

"Rather than give you hints for puzzle #1, I want you to know more about inventions. With factual help from The World Book Encyclopedia, I have listed revolutionary inventions and the date attributed to their discovery below."

thermometer -1593 *** telescope -1602 *** steam engine -early 1700's *** cotton gin -1793 *** steam locomotive -1804 *** stethoscope -1816 *** photography -1826 *** telegraph -1836 *** safety match -1844 *** sewing machine -1846 *** safety pin -1849
hypodermic syringe -1853 *** dynamite -1867 *** barbedwire -1873 *** telephone -1876 *** phonograph -1877 *** incandescent light -1876 *** diesel engine -1892 *** zipper -1893 *** radio -1895 *** x-ray machine -1895 *** safety razor -1901.

Puzzle #2
Best known as the "father" of microbiology, Louis Pasteur was born Dec. 27, 1822. In 1859, he discovered that heat would destroy germs, a process which became known as pasteurization. As a scientist in 1876, he studied microorganisms and found that they cause fermentation and disease. He improved the understanding of "vaccination" where weakened microbes were injected into animals that, consequently, developed an immunity response to fight off the disease microbes. He died in 1895.

Puzzle #2 "text": 4 words relate to scientist Louis Pasteur, the father of Microbiology:

Answer 5:--8 letter adjective--root is DEM = people -- word means: *** affecting and spreading to many people at the same time (disease); extremely prevalent; widespread
Answer 6:--7 letter verb--root is FERV = boil -- word means: *** to cause to undergo the anaerobic breakdown of molecules that yields energy
Answer 7:--7 letter noun--root (prefix) is MICRO = small, minute -- word means: *** a microorganism; a minute form of life; a microscopic living animal or plant
Answer 8:--8 letter verb--root is CUB = lie down -- word means: *** to maintain a temperature that promotes development; to sit on eggs for the purpose of hatching

PUZZLE #2 - Rooty*Hoot*Hoot® - Answer Sheet

Your answer 5
Your answer 6
Your answer 7
Your answer 8

"Hi, I'm Sam Mantics, Dean of Admissions & Directions at Vocabulary University."

"All these scientific advances are exciting, aren't they? I want to share some highlights (source:The World Book Encycopedia) of many monumental discoveries which are listed below:"

The earliest scientific thoughts, before the birth of Christ, are attributed to famous thinkers such as Hippocrates, Aristotle, Euclid and Archimedes. More recent discoveries and the famous people who paved the way for our rapid pace of scientific advancement include:
Astronomy (Copernicus 1593), Physics (Galileo 1600's), Mechanics (Sir Issac Newton 1687), Methods of Classification of Plants and Animals (Carolus Linnaeus 1730's), Chemistry (Antoine Lavoisier 1777), Geology (Charles Lyell 1830's), Theory of Evolution (Charles Darwin 1858), Periodic Table (Dimitri Mendeleer 1869), X-Rays (Wilhelm K. Roentgen 1895), Element Radium (Marie and Pierre Curie 1898), and the Theory of Relativity (Albert Einstein 1905).

Puzzle #3
The transistor was invented at Bell Labs in 1947. Evolving from the vacuum tube, the transistor is a small, solid-state device (consisting of a semiconductor with 3 or more electrodes) that controls the flow of electricity. Faster switching, amplification and detection are achieved while using less power. Due to its inception, the information revolution zoomed forward as it used the transistor in computers, radios, televisions, calculators and various other electronic devices. We would not have the Internet today without the transitor!

Puzzle #3 "text": 4 words relate to the invention of the Transitor:

Answer 9:--13 letter noun--root is LABOR = work -- word means: *** the process of working together or cooperating, esp. in a joint intellectual exercise
Answer 10:--10 letter noun--root is INSULA = island -- word means: *** a material used to cover or separate that can prevent or reduce the transfer of heat, electricity or sound
Answer 11:--6 letter noun--root is VACO = empty -- word means: *** an enclosed space entirely devoid of matter; a space not filled or occupied; emptiness
Answer 12:--7 letter verb--root is PULS = drive -- word means: *** to beat or throb; to vibrate; to expand and contract rythmically

PUZZLE #3 - Rooty*Hoot*Hoot® - Answer Sheet

Your answer 9
Your answer 10
Your answer 11
Your answer 12

"Hi, I'm Crossword, the Mascot at Vocabulary University."
"I'm not an inventor or a scientist but I can use big words to impress! Find a dictionary and learn words yourself.
"I am not a PAVID creature and I will not DIVAGATE from any task assigned to me!"

Divagate means to wander, stray, divert or deviate
Pavid means frightened; afraid; quaking in fear

When you hit the submit button below you will see all your answers in one short form. When you hit submit again on that short form, you will immediately get all the correct answers and sentences that use each correct word.

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For an "assessment exercise" for these "Science History: Inventors & Scientists" words,
click on Science History Fill-in-the-Blanks Assessment here.

To see an Alphalary list from these science areas click here.
To request any of the word lists below (number of words in parentheses) please email Jan Cook here.

Chemistry (81), Physics, Force & Gravity (115), Geology (288), Multi-science (348)
Horticulture & Flowers (249), Raptors (162), Astronomy (324), Oceans (128), Weather (264).

Many insect and tropic/rainforest-related words can be found in these links:
129 Biology/Insect Alphalary word list here
388 Rain Forest Alphalary word list here.

Discussion questions:
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Reminder:
Don't forget to complete other activities and educational exercises from our current Session #139:
Interactive grade level puzzles: ["S139 Level 1"] -- ["S139 Level 2"] -- ["S139 Level 3"]
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We want to acknowledge that the word definitions in these puzzles are used with the permission of Random House Inc. and most come from their "Random House Webster's College Dictionary".
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