Physical Science vocabulary is not a random pile of words to be hauled into memory one at a time — it is a construction kit. Nearly every technical term is built from a small set of Greek and Latin parts snapped together. Know that thermo- means heat and -meter means measure, and thermometer announces itself. Memorizing words is linear; learning roots is exponential — thirty parts unlock several hundred words.
Keep a running roots-and-symbols page at the back of the lab notebook; add to it every time a new prefix, suffix, or unit symbol appears. When you hit an unfamiliar term, break it apart out loud and guess the meaning before you look it up — that retrieval is what fixes the part in memory.
| Part | Meaning | Example & what it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| thermo- / -therm | heat | thermometer measures heat; thermal means heat energy. |
| -meter | measure | voltmeter measures voltage; ammeter measures current. |
| -scope | look, watch | telescope looks at far things; microscope at tiny ones. |
| micro- | very small (millionth) | micrometer — one-millionth of a meter. |
| kilo- | thousand | kilometer = 1,000 meters; kilowatt = 1,000 watts. |
| milli- | thousandth | millimeter = 1/1000 of a meter. |
| kine- / kinet- | motion | kinetic energy — the energy of a moving object. |
| dynam- | power, force | dynamo turns motion into electricity. |
| grav- | heavy | gravity — the downward pull on mass. |
| veloci- | speed | velocity — speed in a particular direction. |
| photo- | light | photon — a particle of light; a photocell runs on it. |
| Part | Meaning | Example & what it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| son- / sono- | sound | sonar and supersonic — faster than sound. |
| ultra- | beyond | ultraviolet — light just beyond violet. |
| infra- | below | infrared — light just below red, felt as heat. |
| electro- | electricity, charge | electromagnet — a magnet made by electricity. |
| magnet- | magnet | magnetism — the pull between magnets. |
| -duct / con- | lead, carry | conductor carries current; conduction, induction. |
| atom- | uncuttable | atom — the smallest piece of an element. |
| iso- / -tope | equal / place | isotope — same element, different mass. |
| trans- | across | transmit; transparent glass lets light across. |
Don’t swallow the table in one sitting. Keep this page open during reading and lab; each time you meet an unfamiliar term, name the parts, guess the meaning, then check. The habit leaves your effort free for the part of physical science that actually rewards it — the problem-solving.