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#49566 12/10/01 01:00 AM
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I bombed my first attempt at first year chemistry whilst at uni. Being a compulsory core subject, I had to pass it second time around or I would have been prevented from doing any second year subjects.

I don't know if it's changed, but back in those days (1977) you had to be able to create the main part of the periodic table from scratch. You were given a blank table at the start of an exam which needed to be completed to help you answer some of the questions. (As I recall, there were no marks awarded for completing the table itself!!)

I now forget all the pnemonics I created (maybe they weren't so good after all!) to regenerate the table, but the one for the 5th row went:

Ruby.........(Rubidium - Rb)
Strong's..........(Strontium - Sr)
Indian..........(Indium - In)
Snake..........(Tin - Sn)
Sobs..........(Antimony - Sb)
Terribly..........(Tellurium - Te)
In..........(Iodine - I)
Exile..........(Xenon - Xe)

I was terribly proud of all the pnemonics because each word contained the letters for an element's symbol and, if there was a doubt as to which element it was, the pronunciation helped out (eg to differentiate between Indium and Iodine in the 5th row.)

I passed!

stales


#49567 12/10/01 06:12 PM
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2 1.414 Rat race. Picture two rats racing through a maze.

3 1.732 Kimono. Picture a kimono with triangular figures in its pattern.

5 2.236 Enmesh. Picture the Pentagon enmeshed in red tape.

6 2.449 Rare bee. Picture a bee with blue and yellow stripes in a honeycomb with its six sided sections.

7 2.646 Sure shot. Picture a sharpshooter shooting seven cans off of a fence with his pistol.

8 2.828 Fan fold. Picture a folding fan with eight segments.


#49568 12/10/01 06:46 PM
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Success - Double the c and double the s and you will always have success!

Together - To get together, you have to get her!

Friend - A friend is a friend 'til the end!

I still use those from time to time. There is also the Right Hand Rule. Helpful determining the direction of the magnetic field created by a moving current (or something). Is it really a mnemonic device if you don't remember the details?

I also am sure you, Wordwind, as a music teacher of youngsters, know all the Every Good Boy Does Fine, FACE, All Cows Eat Grass, etc. mnemonics for learning the notes of the staff.


#49569 12/10/01 07:07 PM
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faldage, sigh all you want, I still don't unnerstand yer square root mnemonic.
what's 449 got to do with rare bees?

#49570 12/10/01 08:48 PM
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Faldage, I suspect one won't understand your numeric mnemonic until you explain the general code, suitable for translating a series of digits into a series of consonants (and thence into a word):

1 = t (think "one vertical stroke in letter")
2 = n (two verticals)
3 = m (three verticals)
4 = r (fourth letter in "four")
etc.

#49571 12/10/01 09:38 PM
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1 = t (think "one vertical stroke in letter") Also d since d is a voiced t
2 = n (two verticals)
3 = m (three verticals)
4 = r (fourth letter in "four")
5 = l because l is Roman numeral 50.
6 = j because j looks like a backwards 6. Also ch, sh, soft g, etc.
7 = k because a k can be made from two sevens. Also hard g and hard c.
8 = f because handwritten f has two loops like an eight. Also v, ph.
9 = p because p looks like a backwards 9. Also b
0 = z because z is the first letter of zero. Also s, soft c.

In my two rats John Shar's reduces to John Shar (don't ask) and kitchen police reduces to KP.


#49572 12/10/01 10:56 PM
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#49573 12/10/01 11:25 PM
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Another device to remember a list of words or names is to learn (by brute force or by further mnemonic) how many of them begin with each letter of the alphabet.

For example, one trying to recite the names of all fifty US states might begin by learning how many begin with A, with B, with C, etc. Then, knowing how many you need to grope for with each letter, it takes but little practice to learn to bring them to mind.
4 A's: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas
0 B's
3 C's: Califonia, Colorado, Connecticut
(etc.)


#49574 12/11/01 01:42 AM
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My own mnemoniac is my pal Andy to whom I ply with cheap wine and flatteries but alas he is oft times gone and so I many times resort to the more traditional. For example, the code to the security alarm at the warehouse is 1492, so mnemonically I inverted the two middle numbers to read 1942, -get it- thats the year that we, the Americans of the world, first split the atom. Pretty neat, huh?


#49575 12/11/01 02:38 AM
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