Word Detective Worksheet, The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota

Can you think of any words which are used today which come from ancient languages such as Greek, Latin, or Anglo-Saxon?

Are there any towns or places near your school that are direct translations of Native American words? Or Spanish words? Or French Words?

Many words in all languages are "borrowed" from other languages. Now let's look at how this applies to science. Listed below is a key of Greek (G), Latin (L), and Anglo-Saxon (AS) roots which will help you and solve the exercises below.

**Please note: some are prefixes, and go at the beginning of the word. They are easily identified by the -. (Epi-, for example) **

Key

e- out of, from L 
epi- upon, on G 
fauna groups of animals L 
benthos (benthic) depth of sea or bottom G 
flora groups of plants L 
in- same as English word in AS 
merge to plunge L 
mobile moves or movable L 
nekton swimmer or swimming G 
neuston swimmer or floater G 
photo- light G 
phyto- plant G 
plankton wandering or drifting G 
sessile sitting or sit L 
sub- under L 
zoo- animal G 

Exercises

• 1. Plants that drift with currents and waves are called ___________________________.
• 2. An organism that lives on the surface of the bottom of a lake or pond is called ____________________________________________.
• 3. An organism which lives its life attached to something else and does not move is called a ___________________ organism.
• 4. Groups of animals which live in the sand or mud are called ______________________.
• 5. Animals that drift with the currents and waves are called _______________________.
• 6. Animals that swim actively in the water are called _____________________________.