In our science lab, Ms. Rivera asked us to analyze why a cold pack feels icy during an endothermic reaction. We observed the thermometer drop and recorded data about thermal energy transfer. By comparing an exothermic hand warmer, we saw how different reactions handle heat: the hand warmer releases heat, while the cold pack absorbs it. Using insulated containers minimized heat loss to the environment, so our measurements were more precise. We also calculated the rate of temperature change to predict when each pack would stabilize. Our final report argued that particle interactions explain the energy flow we measured. The consistent pattern across endothermic, exothermic, thermometer, and thermal terms helped us make sense of the phenomenon and communicate it clearly.

In the passage, the root therm appears in endothermic, exothermic, thermometer, and thermal. What does this Greek root mean, and how does that help you understand endothermic and its connection to the other words?

Driving through the Edwards Plateau, our class stopped at a roadside outcrop to sketch the region's geology. A park ranger explained how geologic layers record ancient seas that once covered parts of Texas. Using geographic surveys and a GPS unit, we marked the location of fossils embedded in limestone. The geologist with us compared geophysical maps that show differences in density beneath the surface, hinting at caverns and aquifers. Near a geothermal spring, warm water bubbled up through fractures, reminding us that Earth's internal heat still moves fluids. By tracing these geo-terms across maps and rocks, we saw how clues at the surface reveal stories underground, and we understood why conservation groups monitor groundwater in this karst landscape.

Across the passage, the root geo appears in geology, geologic, geographic, geologist, geophysical, and geothermal. What does geo mean, and how does that help you connect these words?

In the archives, our group examined a novelist's manuscript to study how revision shapes meaning. Marginal notes circled a clumsy description and suggested a tighter line the author later transcribed into the final draft. On the title page, a faint inscription identified the work's first printing, though some letters had faded. To compare versions, we created a digital transcription and highlighted every change in diction and syntax. Seeing the writer's process on the page helped us discuss why a single word can redirect a scene. The cluster of script-words—manuscript, description, inscription, transcribed—pointed to an underlying habit: writing and rewriting as a path to clarity, where careful choices make characters and themes more precise for the reader.

The passage clusters words with the Latin root scrib/script: manuscript, description, inscription, transcribed, transcription. What does this root mean, and how does that help you understand the set?

During our civics project on Texas infrastructure, we modeled a transportation plan that links rail yards in Fort Worth to container ships along the Gulf. We tracked how goods are imported through a deep-water port and exported across the country by truck. Because some relief supplies must be portable, our plan included lightweight crates that can be carried by hand in emergencies. To compare routes, we used a report summarizing fuel use and travel time for each corridor. The vocabulary in our notes—transport, transportation, import, export, portable, report—revealed a pattern: successful systems depend on moving things efficiently from place to place, whether by sea, highway, or rail, and on sharing information that can be carried from one office to another.

The passage repeats words built on the Latin root port: transport, transportation, import, export, portable, report. What does port mean, and how does that help you understand these terms together?

During our field study in the Texas Hill Country, our guide, a geologist, asked us to sketch the geologic layers exposed along a creek. The geographic survey marked how the Edwards Aquifer feeds springs that carve soft limestone. At a roadside cut, we examined a cracked geode and felt a vent of faint geothermal warmth near a minor fault. Using a simple map, we traced how geology influences ranch locations and where to drill monitoring wells. The geologist explained that even geometry has roots in measuring land. By the end, the pattern was clear: in this landscape, words with the same opening sounded alike for a reason. When I logged my notes, I defined geothermal as heat from Earth and wrote that our geographic route followed the geology.

In this passage, several words share the root geo. What does this root mean, and how does that help you determine the meaning of geothermal and its connection to other geo- words in the passage?

In English class, we analyzed a manuscript draft and compared it with the published version. Our teacher modeled how to transcribe a difficult line, then asked us to describe the narrator's tone in the margin. I noticed a faint inscription on the title page that the original scribe must have added as a note. When I revised my description, I focused on precise diction and clear transitions. Finally, we produced a concise transcript of key quotations with citations. Seeing the cluster of related words, I realized that the unfamiliar term conscription in a historical novel probably connected to writing lists of names. Understanding that shared root helped me infer meanings quickly, even when context clues were limited, and made my annotations more efficient.

Several terms in the passage share the Latin root scrib/script. What does this root mean, and how does that help you figure out transcribe and connect it to other words here?

At the museum's innovation wing, our group built a chronology of communication technologies, arranging artifacts in chronological order from signal fires to satellites. A volunteer helped us synchronize our clocks with a precise chronometer before we started, so our notes would match. One placard warned against an anachronism: putting a smartphone next to a printing press would confuse the timeline. I kept a brief chronicle of the visit, recording each exhibit's date and impact. By comparing artifacts, we saw how chronic problems, like misinformation, reappeared over time even as devices changed. When the organizer called time, we checked our sequence and corrected a mislabeled item. Understanding the repeated root across these terms made the big idea clearer.

Many words in the passage share the Greek root chron. What does this root mean, and how does knowing it help you determine anachronism and relate it to the other chron- words?

In a unit on civic infrastructure, we studied how transportation shapes Texas cities along the I-35 corridor. Freight is transferred between rail yards and ports, while digital updates are transmitted to signs that guide drivers through detours. In Houston, transit routes connect neighborhoods to job centers; in El Paso, goods transit international bridges before trucks transport them statewide. Our analyst showed how funds can be transformed into projects when agencies coordinate. I traced one package's path as it moved from a warehouse, across a river, and through a terminal to its final address. Seeing the same opening syllable in many terms helped me decode unfamiliar ones, like transshipment, by linking them to movement across places.

The passage repeats the Latin root trans. What does trans mean, and how does that help you figure out transportation and connect it to the other trans- words used?