UNIVERZITA PAVLA JOZEFA ŠAFÁRIKA V KOŠICIACH Filozofická fakulta KATEDRA ANGLISTIKY A AMERIKANISTIKY Autor: Mgr. Božena Velebná Názov: English for Chemists Rozsah strán: 77 Elektronický vysokoškolský učebný text pre Filozofickú fakultu UPJŠ v Košiciach. Za odbornú a jazykovú stránku tohoto vysokoškolského učebného textu zodpovedá autor. Rukopis neprešiel redakčnou ani jazykovou úpravou. Vydavateľ: Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Šafárika v Košiciach Umiestnenie: http://www.upjs.sk/public/media/3499/English-for-Chemists.pdf Dostupné od: 20. 2. 2009 ISBN: 978-80-7097-732-3 ď Po akovanie RNDr. Samuelovi Velebnému, CSc., za pomoc a nákazlivé nadšenie pre chémiu. 2 CONTENTS Introduction 5 Unit 1 SCIENCE 6 What is Science? Branches of Science Word Formation Unit 2 CHEMISTRY 13 What is Chemistry? Plural in English Latin and Greek Plural Fundamental Concepts of Chemistry Unit 3 LABORATORY 19 Laboratory Equipment Countable and Uncountable Nouns Alchemy Unit 4 PERIODIC TABLE 27 Periodic Table Consist, Contain, Include Chemical Elements British v. American English Unit 5 MATTER 33 States of Matter Revision of Tenses Passive Voice Unit 6 INORGANIC CHEMISTRY 40 Types of Inorganic Chemical Reactions Inorganic Nomenclature Phrasal Verbs 3 Unit 7 ORGANIC CHEMISTRY 47 10 Carbon Facts Comparison of Adjectives Organic Nomenclature Word Order Unit 8 ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY 54 Environmental Chemistry Green Chemistry Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry Hazard Symbols Relative Pronouns Unit 9 ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY 61 Titration Mathematical Operations Flame Tests Articles Unit 10 EVERYDAY CHEMISTRY 69 Everyday Chemistry Modal Verbs Abstract Bibliography 76 4 INTRODUCTION The following material has been created during the two years of teaching English for Chemists at the Faculty of Science of the Pavol Jozef Šafárik University and is therefore designed to meet the needs of this course. The main motivation was the lack of appropriate materials, especially as the groups generally comprise students with a very diverse level of English. This diversity therefore became the main criterion determining both the form and the content of this text. In the ten units that provide material for a one semester course, the emphasis is put on teaching the students vocabulary and terminology, which is introduced via authentic texts, depending on the topic of each unit. Students are encouraged to learn the meaning of new words in context. Grammar is included too, with the aim of demonstrating and explaining grammatical rules by means of examples taken directly from the texts. For the more advanced students, grammatical exercises in this material can serve for revision while the beginners might need more supplementary materials. I hope that this material, the preparation of which has been a challenging as well as enjoyable experience will be useful for future teachers and the students of this course. Author 5 Unit 1 SCIENCE • What is Science? • Branches of Science • Word Formation What is Science? 1. What do the following words mean? Match them with their definitions science a science scientific scientist – the study of the nature and behaviour of natural things and the knowledge obtained about them – a particular area of scientific knowledge and study, or the study of an area of a human behaviour – describes things that relate to science – someone who works in science 2. What is the difference between ‘science’ and ‘a science’? Branches of Science 1. Which branches of science study each of these areas? environment living things human mind and behaviour matter and forces language money, industry and trade numbers, quantities and shapes celestial objects people, society and culture water substances and their reactions rocks and soil weather society and social behaviour political systems 2. What is the difference between economy and economics? 6 3. Can biology be further subdivided? 4. Put the branches of science into the following 4 main groups. I. Mathematics and logic - not based on experimental testing but they can be considered a part of science because they are essential tools in almost all scientific study. II. Physical science - examines the nature of the universe III. Life science - also called biological sciences or biology, the study of living organisms IV. Social sciences - deal with the individuals, groups and institutions that make up human society. 5. Where would you put e.g. history, literature, religion, philosophy? 6. What is the main difference between sciences and humanities? 7. How do we call the scientists who specialise in the following fields of study? How are the names formed? ecology anthropology psychology chemistry 7 linguistics meteorology biology sociology physics political science economy mathematics astronomy history philosophy theology Are there any other words that can be formed from these words? Word Formation 1. Combine the words in brackets with suitable SUFFIXES to complete the sentences. Choose from the following suffixes: -er, -or, -ing, -ion, -ness, -ity 1. A __________________ (boil) is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. 2. ________________ (compress) is the reduction in size of data in order to save space or transmission time. 3. In chemistry, the ____________________(dense) of many substances is compared to the______________ (dense) of water. 4. _______________________(transmit) is the act of passing something on. 5. _________________ (hard) is the characteristic of a solid material expressing its resistance to permanent deformation. 6. Combustion process is also called __________________ (heat). -ful, -less, -ous, -al, -ive 1. It can be ________________ (use) to write a summary of your argument first. 8 2. Metals containing iron are called _______________ (ferrum). 3. You can ask him if you want to but it’s ________________ (use). He doesn’t want to talk about it. 4. Hydrogen and oxygen are ___________________ (chemistry) elements. 5. I f any material is _______________ (conduct), it means it conducts electric current. -ify, -ise/-ize 1. I think this plan is too complicated. You should __________ (simple) it. 2. There used to be some disputes between the 2 countries but recently they have managed to _______________ (normal) their relations. 3. I hope you ________________ (real) that you are wrong. 4. When a liquid substance becomes solid, it ______________ (solid). What part of speech do the words you have just created belong to? 2. Match the following PREFIXES with their meanings. bi-, mono-, multi-, poly-, dis-, in-, mal-, un-, de-, over-, ultra-, super-, re-, mis- number: degree or size: negativeness: reverse: repetition: Now match the following words with appropriate prefixes. Some words can be combined with several prefixes. _____lingual _____expected _____atomic _____compose _____advantage _____function _____hydrate _____violet 9 _____accuracy _____cellular _____frost _____live _____understand _____charge _____flow _____take _____open 3. The following words can have 2 meanings – they can be CONVERTED. What are they? chemical smile smell work diet taste love rest 4. Match the words on the left with those on the right to form COMPOUNDS. class brush self tax science lights tooth control income fiction traffic house green room generation gap Exercises: Exercise 1 Fill in the correct prefix. Use mega- , under- , hyper- , sub- 1. _______ water - used bellow the surface of water 2. _______ weight - weighing less than normal 3. _______ way - a path that goes under a road (GB) / an electric underground railway (US) 4. _______ watt - a million watts 5. _______ title - text added to foreign language movies 6. _______ structure - the lowest supporting part of a structure 7. _______ phone - a cone-shaped device used for making one’s voice louder 8. _______ graduate – a university or college student studying for their first degree 10