Explaining Technical Terms

Question 1

A science reporter must explain "photovoltaic" in a news story. Which explanation could a general reader actually use?

Accepted Answer

Photovoltaic panels change sunlight directly into electricity that a home can use.

Answer

Photovoltaic panels rely on the photovoltaic effect inside a doped semiconductor junction.

Answer

Photovoltaic panels are the panels that make power photovoltaically from the sun.

Answer

Photovoltaic panels store electricity in batteries so the lights stay on at night.

Question 2

A newspaper is defining "storm surge" for coastal readers. Which explanation is accurate but assumes the knowledge a general reader lacks?

Accepted Answer

A storm surge is the rise of seawater above the predicted astronomical tide level.

Answer

A storm surge is seawater pushed onto the land by a typhoon's strong winds.

Answer

A storm surge is a surge of seawater that arrives while a storm is passing.

Answer

A storm surge is the heavy rain a typhoon drops on towns near the coast.

Question 3

A health story must explain "herd immunity" for parents reading quickly. Which explanation could a general reader use straight away?

Accepted Answer

When enough people are immune, a disease spreads slowly and rarely reaches others.

Answer

Herd immunity is reached once the effective reproduction number falls below one.

Answer

Herd immunity is the immunity a herd of people has once the herd is immune.

Answer

Herd immunity means a person who catches a disease twice can never catch it again.

Question 4

A report says: "Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacterial strains acquire genes conferring reduced susceptibility to antimicrobial agents." Why is this unusable for a general reader?

Accepted Answer

It explains the term with more terms the ordinary reader also does not know.

Answer

It gives one narrow example instead of stating what the whole term means.

Answer

It uses cautious wording where the evidence allows a firm plain statement.

Answer

It states an opinion about medicines instead of reporting a checkable fact.

Question 5

A weather feature must explain "La Niña" for readers in a farming town. Which explanation could a general reader use?

Accepted Answer

La Niña is a cooling of the Pacific Ocean that brings us heavier rainfall.

Answer

La Niña is the negative phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation index.

Answer

La Niña is the season when La Niña conditions are felt across the country.

Answer

La Niña is a single strong typhoon that forms over the Pacific each year.

Question 6

Which explanation of earthquake "magnitude" should an editor reject because it assumes the knowledge it is supposed to supply?

Accepted Answer

Magnitude is the logarithmic measure of the seismic moment released at the focus.

Answer

Magnitude is a number showing how much energy the earthquake released at its source.

Answer

Magnitude is the number that tells a reader the magnitude of an earthquake.

Answer

Magnitude is the count of buildings damaged in the town nearest the earthquake.

Question 7

A feature story must explain "carbon footprint" to general readers. Which explanation could they use at once?

Accepted Answer

A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas a person's activities release each year.

Answer

A carbon footprint is the sum of direct and indirect emissions in carbon dioxide equivalent.

Answer

A carbon footprint is the footprint left by whatever carbon a person happens to use.

Answer

A carbon footprint is the black soot a vehicle leaves on the road behind it.

Question 8

A draft reads: "The incubation period is the interval between exposure to the pathogen and the onset of symptomatic disease." Which rewrite could a general reader use?

Accepted Answer

The incubation period is the time between catching an infection and feeling sick.

Answer

The incubation period is the interval preceding the manifestation of clinical signs.

Answer

The incubation period is the period during which an infection quietly incubates.

Answer

The incubation period is the time a sick person needs before recovering fully.

Question 9

An earthquake safety story must explain "liquefaction" for city readers. Which explanation could a general reader use?

Accepted Answer

Shaking can make wet, sandy ground behave like a liquid, so buildings sink.

Answer

Liquefaction occurs when pore water pressure exceeds the effective stress of saturated soil.

Answer

Liquefaction is the process by which soil liquefies during a strong earthquake.

Answer

Liquefaction is the flooding that follows when an earthquake breaks a water pipeline.

Question 10

Which explanation of "bandwidth" would an editor cut because a general reader must already know the science to follow it?

Accepted Answer

Bandwidth is the frequency range a channel occupies between its upper and lower limits.

Answer

Bandwidth is how much data your internet connection can carry in one second.

Answer

Bandwidth is the band of width a connection uses while data is passing through.

Answer

Bandwidth is the distance a wireless signal can travel before it becomes weak.

Question 11

A technology column must explain "algorithm" to readers who do not write code. Which explanation could a general reader use?

Accepted Answer

An algorithm is a fixed set of steps a computer follows to finish a task.

Answer

An algorithm is a finite deterministic procedure mapping an input set onto outputs.

Answer

An algorithm is the algorithm a program runs whenever it has to decide something.

Answer

An algorithm is the part of a phone that stores the apps you use daily.

Question 12

Which explanation of "biodiversity" is accurate yet still leaves a general reader needing three more definitions?

Accepted Answer

Biodiversity is the taxonomic richness and evenness of species across trophic levels.

Answer

Biodiversity is the variety of plants and animals living together in one place.

Answer

Biodiversity is the diversity of biological life a habitat happens to contain.

Answer

Biodiversity is the number of protected forests a country has set aside.

Question 13

A news story must explain "aftershock" for readers waiting outside their homes. Which explanation could a general reader use?

Accepted Answer

An aftershock is a smaller quake that follows the main one in the same area.

Answer

An aftershock is a later rupture within the mainshock's stress-adjusted fault zone.

Answer

An aftershock is the warning tremor that comes just before a big quake.

Answer

An aftershock is the loud sound a building makes while an earthquake is passing.

Question 14

Which explanation of "desalination" assumes the very knowledge a general reader needs supplied?

Accepted Answer

Desalination separates dissolved solids from saline feedwater using reverse osmosis membranes.

Answer

Desalination removes the salt from seawater so that people can safely drink it.

Answer

Desalination is the cleaning of river water by boiling it before drinking.

Answer

Desalination is the drying of seawater ponds to harvest salt for cooking use.

Question 15

A health feature must explain "placebo" to readers following a drug trial. Which explanation could a general reader use?

Accepted Answer

A placebo is a dummy pill with no medicine, given so results can be compared.

Answer

A placebo is the inert control administered to the comparison arm of a blinded trial.

Answer

A placebo is the placebo a patient receives when a placebo is being tested.

Answer

A placebo is a weaker dose of the real medicine given to half the patients.

Question 16

A notice says: "Phishing is a social engineering vector that harvests credentials through spoofed authentication interfaces." Why does this explanation fail a general reader?

Accepted Answer

Every phrase that should explain the term is itself specialist language.

Answer

It reports an opinion about online criminals instead of a plain fact.

Answer

It hedges a warning that the available evidence states with full certainty.

Answer

It lists one recent case rather than giving the general meaning.

Question 17

A health page must explain "hypertension" for readers at a village clinic. Which explanation could a general reader use?

Accepted Answer

Hypertension means a person's blood pressure stays higher than the healthy range.

Answer

Hypertension is a sustained elevation of systolic and diastolic arterial pressure.

Answer

Hypertension is the hypertensive condition a person has when pressure is high.

Answer

Hypertension is the fast heartbeat a person feels after climbing a long staircase.

Question 18

Which explanation of "siltation" should a reporter reject because it uses the knowledge the general reader came to get?

Accepted Answer

Siltation is the deposition of suspended fine sediment load along a channel bed.

Answer

Siltation is soil and sand settling in a river until the water grows shallow.

Answer

Siltation is the wearing away of riverbanks by fast-moving floodwater.

Answer

Siltation is the pollution caused when factories release chemicals into a river.

Question 19

A public health story must explain a "booster dose" for families. Which explanation could a general reader use?

Accepted Answer

A booster is an extra dose given later so protection does not fade away.

Answer

A booster restores waning antibody titers after the primary immunization series.

Answer

A booster is the dose that boosts a person after the earlier doses are given.

Answer

A booster is a stronger vaccine given only to people who missed the first dose.

Question 20

Two drafts explain "greenhouse effect". First: "Certain gases raise the planet's radiative forcing." Second: "Some gases trap heat near Earth, like glass in a greenhouse." Which draft serves general readers, and why?

Accepted Answer

The second, because it gives the meaning through something the reader already knows.

Answer

The first, because it uses the exact wording scientists prefer in their journals.

Answer

The second, because it avoids naming the gases that actually cause the warming.

Answer

The first, because it is shorter than the draft written for general readers.

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Explaining Technical Terms

Ways to Play

Device Games: Students play on their phones

Blast Go

Board Games: Teacher-led, projected to the class

Like what you see?

Zombie Escape

Avalanche

Maze Blast

Cave Climb

Blast Out

Mystery Auction

Tour Guide

Food Truck Rush

Tug of War

Bug Blast

Alien Blast

Glacier Rush

BlastRace

BlastQuiz

BlastBoard

Seek & Destroy

Mystery Blast

Checkers

Texas Hold 'Em

Da Bomb

Castle Siege

Hot Potato

Market Mayhem

King of the Hill

Bank Heist

Top Corner

Explaining Technical Terms

Ways to Play

Device Games: Students play on their phones

Blast Go

Board Games: Teacher-led, projected to the class

Like what you see?

More like this

Zombie Escape

Avalanche

Maze Blast

Cave Climb

Blast Out

Mystery Auction

Tour Guide

Food Truck Rush

Tug of War

Bug Blast

Alien Blast

Glacier Rush

BlastRace

BlastQuiz

BlastBoard

Seek & Destroy

Mystery Blast

Checkers

Texas Hold 'Em

Da Bomb

Castle Siege

Hot Potato

Market Mayhem

King of the Hill

Bank Heist

Top Corner