Amazing Scientists

B1

Anne Collins, Fiona MacKenzie

• Publisher: Collins
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780007545100
• eBook ISBN: 9780007557073
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: English Language
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

The inspiring stories of 6 people who changed history.

GLOSSARY

acid VARIABLE NOUN

An acid is a liquid or other substance with a pH value of less than 7. Strong acids can damage your skin and clothes.

acknowledge TRANSITIVE VERB

If someone’s achievements or qualities are acknowledged, they are known about and accepted by a lot of people, or by a particular group of people.

administration UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Administration is the range of activities connected with organizing the way that an organization works and making sure this happens properly.

anaesthetic VARIABLE NOUN

Anaesthetic is a sort of medicine that stops you feeling pain during an operation.

appoint TRANSITIVE VERB

If someone is appointed to an important job, they are given that job.

apprentice TRANSITIVE VERB

To be apprenticed to someone means to work for them in order to learn the special skill that they have.

aristocrat COUNTABLE NOUN

An aristocrat is someone whose family is very important in society.

astronomy UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Astronomy is the scientific study of the stars, planets, and other natural objects in space.

Bachelor of Arts SINGULAR NOUN

A Bachelor of Arts is a first degree from a university in an arts subject such as history or literature.

Bachelor of Science SINGULAR NOUN

A Bachelor of Science is a first degree from a university in a science subject.

baronet COUNTABLE NOUN

In Britain, a baronet is a man who has been given the title ‘Sir’ by the king or queen, or who has the title because his father had it before him. In the past, baronets were members of the House of Lords

beehive COUNTABLE NOUN

A beehive is a sort of box in which bees are kept, which is designed so that the person who looks after them can collect the honey that they produce.

beetle COUNTABLE NOUN

A beetle is an insect with a hard cover to its body.

botanist COUNTABLE NOUN

A botanist is a scientist who studies plants.

botany UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Botany is the scientific study of plants.

breed (breeds, breeding, bred) TRANSITIVE VERB

If you breed animals or plants, you keep them for the purpose of producing more animals or plants.

cell COUNTABLE NOUN

A cell is the smallest part of an animal or plant. Animals and plants are made up of millions of cells.

coal miner COUNTABLE NOUN

A coal miner is a person whose job is to work underground and dig out coal.

commissioner COUNTABLE NOUN

A commissioner is an important person in a commission, which is a government organization responsible for controlling a particular activity.

convent COUNTABLE NOUN

A convent is a sort of church in which religious women live.

convict TRANSITIVE VERB

If someone is convicted of a crime, they are found guilty of it in a law court.

Count COUNTABLE NOUN, TITLE NOUN

A Count is a male member of a family that is very important in society.

cross-breed (cross-breeds, cross-breeding, cross-bred) VERB

If you cross-breed plants, you use two different sorts together to produce a new sort.

curved ADJECTIVE

A curved object has the shape of a curve or has a smoothly bending surface.

demonstration COUNTABLE NOUN

A demonstration of something is a talk by someone who shows you how to do it or how it works.

DNA UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

DNA is something that is contained in the cells of all living things. It is responsible for the way every cell is made and for what every cell does. DNA is an abbreviation for ‘deoxyribonucleic acid’.

DNA fingerprinting UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

DNA fingerprinting is a method scientists use to say exactly who someone is by analysing a tiny piece of their skin, hair, etc.

electrolysis UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Electrolysis is the process of pushing electricity through a liquid in order to make chemical changes in it.

element COUNTABLE NOUN

An element is a substance such as gold, oxygen, or carbon that consists of only one type of atom.

emperor COUNTABLE NOUN

An emperor is a man who rules an empire, which is a group of countries.

faculty COUNTABLE NOUN

In some universities, a faculty is a group of departments that deal with similar subjects.

forensic ADJECTIVE

Forensic scientists carry out scientific examinations of objects in order to discover information about a crime.

fossil COUNTABLE NOUN

Fossils are the dead bodies of creatures that lived millions of years ago, often found in rock.

founder COUNTABLE NOUN

The founder of a branch of science is the first person to study it and make it known.

gauze UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Gauze is a type of thin light material with tiny holes in it.

gene COUNTABLE NOUN

A gene is the part of a cell in a living thing which controls the way it will develop.

genetic ADJECTIVE

You use genetic to describe something that is concerned with genetics or with genes.

genetics UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Genetics is the study of how genes control the development of living things.

germ COUNTABLE NOUN

A germ is a living thing that you cannot see because it is so small. Germs can give people a disease.

guillotine COUNTABLE NOUN

A guillotine is a piece of equipment used to kill people as a punishment. It has a heavy, sharp metal blade which drops onto the person’s neck. Guillotines were used in the past in France, especially during the French Revolution.

gunpowder UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

Gunpowder is a powder which is use...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• The Grading Scheme
• Antoine Lavoisier
• Humphry Davy
• Charles Darwin
• Gregor Mendel
• Louis Pasteur
• Francis Crick
• Glossary
• Keep Reading
• Copyright
• About the Publisher