Metric system microscope thermometer telescope
These words are used to describe the inventions above. Check if you know their meaning. How are they related to these inventions?
to contain |
to determine |
image |
concave |
magnification |
to observe |
direction |
liquid |
to multiply |
to measure |
constellations |
volume |
angle |
decimal |
unit |
component |
to expand |
|
mercury |
to focus |
|
Work with a partner. Take turns to describe the purpose of each invention.
Example: Metric system (decimal, system, to measure, meters, hours, kilograms,
etc.)
Microscope (device, to magnify, small objects, to examine, lenses, scientifically)
Compass (tool/device, to find, magnetic north, suspended needle, to point to direction)
Thermometer (device, to measure, to rise, to fall, graduated glass cylinder, line, water, temperature, air, mercury, people’s body, to move up or down, coloured alcohol, to contain)
Telescope (instrument, cylindrical, to enlarge, to observe, stars, planets, lenses, mirrors)
Focus on language
Translate these sentences into your native language. Do you need a dictionary to translate them correctly?
I’m sure she will make a good physician.
The climate model developed by the climatologists forecasts dramatic changes in Europe as well as US.
International words vs “False friends” The words mostly of Greek and Latin origin that are used in many other languages especially in different areas of science and technology are called international words, e.g. geometry, atom, mathematics, radio, integral, theorem, structure, etc. Knowledge of such words helps a lot in reading and translation. However, there are so called ‘false friends”. These are words that look like international but have different meanings in English and in Russian, e.g. to reclaim (to take back something that was yours), actual (real, existing in fact, etc), spectacles (a pair of eyeglasses), etc. |
In the texts above find examples of international and ‘false friends’ words and translate them into your native language.
Sort out the words below into categories. Use the dictionary if necessary.
International words |
“False Friends” |
lecture
|
control |
Can you name the English words we use in our daily life? What words in your native language have become international?
Writing |
Study help It is important when reading or writing to recognize and understand the relationship in which sentences and groups of sentences combine to present information. Here are the signal words that can be used to show the order in which things are to be said. firstly in the first place secondly also thirdly in addition to what is more above all etc. |
It made it possible to …
It became easy to …
It was a breakthrough in…
It made an important contribution to…
It laid the foundation for…
It gave rise to…/ It helped to…
It gave birth to…
It made a revolution in…
It enabled people to do…
It found widespread application in…
Get real |
S
earch
websites or popular science magazines to find information
about
two significant discoveries or inventions in your field of science
made before the 20th
century. Make notes on what you have found. Be sure to include
description
inventor / discoverer
scientific significance
Make a poster presentation. Use the guidelines in the box.
-
Study help: Making a Poster Presentation
Step One - Brainstorm the ideas on what points to highlight in your poster.
Step Two - Go online to find the information to include in your poster.
Develop the information you have found into separate paragraphs.
Write each paragraph on a separate piece of paper.
Step Three - Structure your text. Think of the order and place of each
paragraph on your poster.
Step Four - Proofread the material checking the spelling, punctuation,
grammar and vocabulary.
Step Five - Add necessary photos, diagrammes, timelines, etc. to make your
poster more comprehensible and attractive.
Step Six - Pin the poster on the wall of the classroom and make your
presentation.
Reading |
You are going to read about famous scientists M. Lomonosov, T. Edison and
B. Pascal and their research work. With a partner check if you know:
What fields did they work in?
What did they discover or invent?
As you read complete the chart.
Name |
Country |
Field of science |
Accomplishments |
Lomonosov
|
|
|
|
Pascal
|
|
|
|
Edison
|
|
|
|
-
Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765)
Lomonosov was the first Russian scientist of worldwide importance. His achievements in physics, chemistry, astronomy, geology and geography as well as his construction of instruments made a significant contribution to the development of Natural Sciences. Lomonosov considered chemistry his main ‘profession’. His major scientific accomplishments were in theoretical
and experimental chemistry. It was Lomonosov who founded a new science, namely, physical chemistry by explaining chemical phenomena through the laws of physics. His law of concentration of matter and development of atomic-molecular theory of matter and molecular-kinetic theory were a revolution in Natural Science of the time.
Besides, he made some notable discoveries in astronomy, geology and mineralogy. In particular, he developed the principle that nature undergoes continuous evolution and demonstrated the organic origin of soil, coal, gas, peat and amber. Lomonosov was also the first to separate geological processes into external (exogenic - wind, rain, rivers, glaciers,etc) and internal (endogenic - tectonic movements, volcanoes, etc). His geographical investigation led to the discovery of the northern passage to India.
-
Blaise Pascal (1623 -1662)
At 14, Blaise Pascal,a French mathematician and philosopher, began attending weekly lectures on mathematics. When he was only 16years old, Blaise wrote a paper on conic sections, which was acclaimed by his fellow mathematicians as ‘the most powerful and valuable contribution that had been made to mathematical science since the days of Archimedes’.
This paper laid the foundations for the modern study and application of conic sections. Pascal always tried to make his work in science and mathematics of practical use to mankind. While still a teenager, he invented the first machine to do calculations - an arithmetic machine that could add and subtract. Pascal also worked with another mathematician, Fermat, on the Theory of Probability. He, in particular, invented a simple method known as Pascal’s Triangle to determine the probability of certain outcomes.
-
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)
Perhaps the man who did most to make everyday life what it is today was Thomas Alva Edison. He was curious about the world around him and always tried to teach himself through reading and experiments.
Many of Edison’s most important inventions were made in his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. In 1877 Thomas Edison made a recording on a little machine which he had invented and played it back to himself.
The first phonograph was not at all like a record player of our time. Anyway, it was a great step forward, a step that was to lead to the modern science of sound recording.
In October 1879 after long experiments he succeeded in making an incandescent lamp in which a loop of carbonized cotton thread glowed in vacuum for more than 40 hours. In addition to the phonograph, incandescent light bulb and the electric train, he also conducted early experiments in wireless technology. In 1885 he patented a method of transmitting telegraphic signals from moving trains. His life and achievements symbolize the ideal of applied research.
(Adapted from the Internet sites)
Focus on language
Look back in the text to find as many noun phrases as possible to do with research. Write them down under the appropriate model. Translate them
into
y
our
native language.
Example: a method of transmitting telegraphic signals
метод передачи сигналов по телеграфу
Example: probability theory Example: modern science
теория вероятности современная наука
Read the sentence from the text. What other adjectives can go with the noun contribution?
Lomonosov made a significant contribution to the development of natural sciences.
Collocation Collocation is the way words combine in a language to produce natural-sounding speech and writing. E.g., in English you say strong wind and heavy rain. It would be not normal to say *heavy wind or *strong rain. Collocation runs through the whole of the English language. No piece of natural spoken or written English is totally free of collocation. For the student, choosing the right collocation will make his speech and writing more natural, more native-speaker-like. |
Look at the diagram with the words invention and discovery. See how many
collocations you can make with these words.
Scientific Archaeological Medical
|
Latest New Recent Accidental Chance
|
Great Brilliant Amazing World-shaking Significant Unexpected |
