science

Matricide

Matricide is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Matricide rather than just read about it. In short: Matricide (or maternal homicide) is the act of killing one's own mother. The word matricide is derived from the Latin word mātricida, from māter (mother) and the suffix -cida (cutter or killer).

Key takeaways

Matricide belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Matricide to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Matricide from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Matricide (or maternal homicide) is the act of killing one's own mother. The word matricide is derived from the Latin word mātricida, from māter (mother) and the suffix -cida (cutter or killer). Matricide is a sub-form of parricide. Throughout human history, matricide has been culturally considered one of the most heinous crimes. Matricide is a rare form of murder, accounting for around 0.68% of homicides. In the United States, matricide represented less than 2% of homicides committed between 1976 and 1998. In the western world, matricide is less common than patricide, which accounts for less than 4% of murders in North America and Europe. In the majority of cases, matricide is committed by adult sons, with psychotic disorders, most often schizophrenia. Matricides are usually not premeditated and take place in the mother's bedroom following a trivial dispute. Relationships between perpetrators of matricide and their mothers are usually ambivalent with frequent conflicts, typically described by perpetrators as a hostile-dependent relationship with a domineering mother. Male perpetrators of matricide, regardless of age, most often act alone. Daughters under the age of 18 are the least common perpretrators of matricide and female juvenile perpetrators usually kill their mothers with an older male accomplice. The killing of stepmothers by stepchildren represent only 5% of overall matricides. In these cases, perpetrators are usually younger, with 64% being under the age of 25, compared to 35% of perpetrators in matricides of biological mothers. In Israel, matricide accounted for 20-33% of all femicides in 2025.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Matricide

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Matricide claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Matricide before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Matricide ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Matricide

In research: Matricide appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Matricide in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Matricide is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Death of women, Homicide, Killings by type, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Matricide outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Matricide in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Matricide means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Matricide out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Matricide in simple terms?

Matricide (or maternal homicide) is the act of killing one's own mother. The word matricide is derived from the Latin word mātricida, from māter (mother) and the suffix -cida (cutter or killer).

Why does Matricide matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Matricide?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Matricide.