Atom - Vocabulary list

Tuning-in activities, p. 13

to break down into = to separate (something) into (simpler substances)

Water can be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis.

to alter = to change
You can alter the colour and size of the image by using remote control.

a quark1 = a very small part of something, which is smaller than an atom

If the world had been created without the exclusion principle, quarks would not form separate, well-
defined protons and neutrons.

chargeless = without charge, neutral

- less vs less

matter (uncountable) vs a matter (countable)

= the material that everything in the = a subject/situation/issue that you have to

universe is made of, including solids, think about or deal with
liquids, and gases
An atom is the smallest unit of matter that There are important matters we need to
retains all of the chemical properties of an discuss.
element. Are there any matters arising from the report
which you wish to discuss?

to cluster (into) = to categorise/group/classify/divide (into) (all of these semantically similar verbs

are followed by the same preposition)
We clustered them into three groups.

at random = randomly, without any definite plan, aim, or pattern

Twenty students were chosen at random to take part in the experiment.

to orbit = to travel in a curved path around a much larger object such as the Earth, the Sun, etc.; to
move/rotate around
The satellite orbits the Earth every 48 hours.

in a … fashion = in a particular way

Please leave the building in an orderly fashion.

Greece, Germany, England, etc. → Greek, German, English, etc.

Note: In English, nationality adjectives must always start with a capital letter - 'Italian', not 'italian',
whereas in Croatian, they start with a small letter – talijanski jezik, njemački fizičar
Say that in English/in German/in Croatian!

1Invented by Murray Gell-Mann (born 1929), a US scientist, based on the phrase “three quarks for Muster Mark” in
Finnegans Wake (1939) by James Joyce; because originally there were thought to be three quarks
uncuttable, indivisible, indestructible

uncuttable

prefix stem word (root) suffix

un- → used to show a negative, a lack, or an opposite

Can you think of any other prefixes that indicate the opposite meaning (e.g. fair – unfair)? Give
examples of the following prefixes:
in-
ir-
im-
a-
anti-
non-
mis-
dis-
counter-

-ible/-able → refers to sth that can be done (washable = it can be washed) or sth that has a particular
quality or condition (knowledgeable = knowing a lot)
- can be combined with a prefix indicating the opposite meaning (divisible → indivisible = sth that
cannot be divided)

before 1961 / in 20192 – prije 1961. godine / 2019. godine

compared to/with, in comparison with/to, like ≠ unlike = in contrast to

ATOM, p.17

hydrogen = the chemical element with atomic number 1, represented by the symbol H

a transuranic element = a chemical element with the atomic number greater than 92, which is the
atomic number of uranium. All transuranic elements are artificially made, unstable and decay
radioactively into other elements.

to derive from = to develop/originate/come from

This word is derived from Latin.

to postulate = to assume or assert the truth, reality, or necessity of, especially as a basis of an
argument (to postulate a theory = postaviti teoriju)

a radius = the radius of a circle is the distance from its centre to its outside edge, Pl. radii (for
pronunciation, visit: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/radius)

a nucleus = the central part of an atom, Pl. nuclei (for pronunciation, visit:
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/nucleus)

2 In English, after years expressed as numbers there is no full stop. In Croatian, a full stop is obligatory.
a quantized3 energy level = this concept, first proposed by N. Bohr, states that electrons can only
exist in certain possible energy levels, which he pictured as orbits around a nucleus since the energy of
an electron is proportional to its distance from the nucleus (syn. an orbit, an orbital, a shell)

the innermost = furthest inside or nearest to the centre ≠ the outermost

to designate = to indicate or specify, give a name to; mark, label

respectively = in the order designated or mentioned

How would you translate the following two sentences into Croatian? Where would you use the
Croatian counterpart for respectively?
The three storage tanks can hold 50, 100 and 200 litres of fuel, respectively.
The values of x and y are 3.5 and 18.2, respectively.

according to = in accordance with (u skladu s)

the Pauli exclusion principle = assertion that no two electrons in an atom can be at the same time
in the same state or configuration, proposed (1925) by the Austrian physicist Wolfgang Pauli to
account for the observed patterns of light emission from atoms.

atomic number = (also known as the proton number) the number of protons found in the nucleus
of an atom and therefore identical to the charge number of the nucleus, conventionally represented by
the symbol Z

to screen from = if something screens something else, it is in front of it and hides it

A line of trees screened the house from the road.

hence = for this reason, therefore, thus

a discrepancy = divergence or disagreement, as between facts or claims; difference

Irregular plural
English has borrowed many common words from Latin and Greek, such as appendix, basis, criterion,
maximum, syllabus, virus, etc. In their original language, the plurals of such words followed that
language’s rules: the Latin plural of maximum is maxima, the Greek plural of criterion is criteria, etc.
However, most of these words also form regular plurals in English by adding an -s, e.g. maximums,
referendums, syllabuses.
For more information about Greek and Latin endings, visit:
http://web.utk.edu/~hirst/460/nouns.html, or watch the following irregular plural video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6pH8O3B4ak

Here are some examples:

Sg Pl
a nucleus nuclei
a radius radii
a phenomenon phenomena

You will find more examples in task 4, p. 14 (which is also your homework).

3
quantised, BrE