Whit Andrews, age 7, of Richmond, Virginia, for his questions

Why do they give scientific names to things?

What does a Dutch boy call his dog and what is the French word for horse? The Germans have their own word for cabbage and the Greeks have their own word for roses. This is because there are many different languages in the world. Naturally this is very confusing for people who travel from country to country. It is even more confusing for scientists of different countries because they like to get together and talk about their favorite plants and animals.

The scientific names for plants and animals were invented to help scientists to understand each other. The scientific name of a plant or animal is the same in every language, everywhere in the world. For example, the ordinary green frog has a different everyday name in almost every country. But his scientific name is the same wherever he goes. When a scientist mentions Rana clamitans, every other scientist in the world knows that this is the scientific name for the ordinary green frog