What does biodegradable mean?
Word: Biodegradable
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Biodegradable means able to be broken down naturally by bacteria into substances that do not harm the environment.
How do you spell biodegradable?
Syllables: bi - o - de - grad - a - ble
Tricky part: The ending is able, not ible. Pupils who know words like visible and possible often write the wrong one.
Watch out for: biodegradible, biodegradeable
Memory tip: If something can be broken down, it is able to be broken down, so keep able at the end.
Biodegradable in a sentence
Example 1: We use biodegradable plates made of leaves at our school picnic.
Example 2: Banana peel is biodegradable, so it can go straight into the compost pit.
Example 3: The shop near our school now packs vegetables in biodegradable bags.
Fun Fact
Banana leaves have long been used as plates in many warm countries, and they are a well-known example of something biodegradable.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
bi_degr_dable
a) o, e
b) e, a
c) o, a
d) a, a
Show answer
c) o, a. The word starts with bio, meaning life, and the middle sounds like grade with a long a.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
biodeggradable
a) a
b) d
c) b
d) g
Show answer
d) g. Only one g sits in the middle of this word.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
gaderbaliobed
a) disagreeable
b) biodegradable
c) biodiversity
d) biographical
Show answer
b) biodegradable. Only one of these uses exactly two b's, two d's, two e's and no s.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) biodegradable
b) enviroment
c) polution
d) recycleable
Show answer
a) biodegradable. Environment keeps the n before ment, pollution has two l's, and recyclable drops the e before able.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these items is most likely biodegradable?
a) a plastic toy
b) a steel spoon
c) a glass bottle
d) an apple core
Show answer
d) an apple core
2. Rina buries a leaf plate and a plastic cup in the garden. What will most likely happen after some months?
a) both of them stay just the same
b) both of them rot away completely
c) the plate rots away but the cup stays
d) the cup rots away but the plate stays
Show answer
c) the plate rots away but the cup stays
