What does bacteria mean?
Word: Bacteria
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Bacteria means tiny living things, each made of one cell, far too small to see with your eyes alone. Some cause illness, but many are useful.
Synonyms: microbes
How do you spell bacteria?
Syllables: bac - te - ri - a
Tricky part: The k sound after ba is a plain c: bac, not bak or back.
Watch out for: backteria, bakteria
Memory tip: Bacteria starts with the same three letters as bacon, and neither word has a k.
Bacteria in a sentence
Example 1: Some bacteria in our tummy help us digest food.
Example 2: Boiling water kills most harmful bacteria.
Example 3: Helpful bacteria turn warm milk into yoghurt overnight.
Fun Fact
The name comes from a Greek word meaning a small stick, because the first bacteria seen under microscopes looked like tiny rods.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) fungas
b) bacteria
c) infecsion
d) vaccene
Show answer
b) bacteria. Bacteria is right. The others should be fungus, infection and vaccine.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
bac_er_a
a) k, i
b) t, e
c) d, i
d) t, i
Show answer
d) t, i. Say bac-te-ri-a: t fills the first gap and i the second.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
teracabi
a) bacetira
b) bactiera
c) bacteria
d) bacterai
Show answer
c) bacteria. Begin with bac and finish with the two vowels that close the word.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
bacteria
a) seeds
b) germs
c) bubbles
d) crumbs
Show answer
b) germs. Germs is an everyday word for bacteria that can make us ill.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Why do we wash our hands with soap before eating?
a) to make our hands feel warm
b) to clean off things that make us ill
c) to change the colour of our skin
d) to make our fingers smell of food
Show answer
b) to clean off things that make us ill
2. Why do we keep cooked food covered and cool?
a) to change its colour
b) to stop it from going bad quickly
c) to make it taste sweeter
d) to make it heavier
Show answer
b) to stop it from going bad quickly
