Question

Which best identifies a suffix and how it changes the meaning of the word? The suffix in journalism is -ism; it changes the word to mean "the practice of periodical writing of current news." The suffix in nihilism is -ism; it changes the word to mean "to make nothing." The suffix in recycle is re-; it changes the word to mean "to process again." The suffix in preapprove is pre-; to changes the word to mean "to give permission in advance."

Answer 1

If the choices are:

The suffix in journalism is -ism; it changes the word to mean "the practice of periodical writing of current news."

The suffix in nihilism is -ism; it changes the word to mean "to make nothing."

The suffix in recycle is re-; it changes the word to mean "to process again."

The suffix in preapprove is pre-; to changes the word to mean "to give permission in advance."

The answer is then the first option. 

The world Journal is a periodic record of events or news. When you say journalism, it becomes a practice, which is totally different from the meaning of the root word. 

We can rule out the last two because pre- and re- are prefixes, not suffixes. We rule out the nihilism example because nihil does not stand on its own. It is a Latin term that means "nothing," and adding -ism just sort of makes the word usable in the English language.