Greek Roots BIO, GEO, and -LOGY

Use bio (life), geo (earth), and -logy (study of) to read the names of sciences.

Most school subjects that end in -logy got their names from Greek. '-logy' comes from 'logos', meaning word, reason, or study, and in subject names it means 'the study of'. Biology is the study of life (bio). Geology is the study of the earth (geo), especially rocks. Ecology is the study of living things and their home environments (eco- comes from a Greek word for house). Zoology is the study of animals; meteorology, despite its name, is the study of weather and the atmosphere.

The same roots appear elsewhere: a biome is a large community of living things; geothermal energy is heat from inside the earth (therm means heat); a biodegradable package can be broken down by living things. Here is a reading example: 'A geologist and a biologist studied the cave together. ' Without a glossary, you can predict that one studied the rocks and the other studied the creatures living there.

• 1BIO means life and GEO means earth.
• 2-LOGY means the study of; -LOGIST is a person who studies it.
• 3Subject names are often root plus -logy.