Unit 5: Genre Study 1 – Expository Text

This list covers Before Columbus and "Looking Back to Move Forward."
10 words 22 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. sparse
    not dense or plentiful
    Teosinte looks nothing like maize, though, and it is not a practical food source. Its hard, woody seeds are sparse.
  2. mutate
    undergo a change or alteration in form or qualities
    The Indians might have noticed that a mutated form of teosinte seemed a little more useful.
  3. manipulation
    exerting shrewd or devious influence for one's own advantage
    The key thing is that maize was created by the Indians in a bold act of biological manipulation.
  4. nutrient
    any substance used by plants to synthesize organic compounds
    The teosinte benefits because the beans' roots add nutrients to the soil.
  5. inefficient
    not producing desired results; wasteful
    Millions of Europeans, for example, plowed their fields with a painfully inefficient plow for centuries after the Chinese had come up with a much better design.
  6. industrial
    of or relating to commercial enterprise
    By studying traditional milpa farming, agricultural scientists may learn techniques that will help modern industrial farmers preserve the health of their soils.
  7. modification
    the act of making something different
    Sometimes these human made versions also involve a modification of the natural compound.
  8. surplus
    a quantity much larger than is needed
    Researchers don't view the remaining 99% as a surplus but rather an essential resource.
  9. innovation
    a creation resulting from study and experimentation
  10. maize
    corn
Created on Thu Nov 19 08:32:18 EST 2020 (updated Wed Nov 25 15:40:09 EST 2020)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.