How to Memorize Anything (35 page)

MEMORIZING METHOD FOR MEASUREMENT UNITS

Measurement units in sequence are:

Kilogram Hectogram Dekagram Gram Decigram Centigram Milligram

We can memorize this sequence using the following
Acrostic
:

K
ing
H
enry
D
ied
U
nexpectedly
D
rinking
C
hocolate
M
ilk

This acrostic helps a lot while converting the measurement from one unit to another.

MEMORIZING MATHEMATICAL FORMULAE

VISUALIZING SYMBOLS

It involves learning some imagery that is associated with mathematical symbols. The following table presents ideas for some common symbols. You don’t have to use the images of the following table if there are others that work better for you.

Apart from the symbols given above, you can also create images for other symbols that you may need.

Here are some common formulas and suggested memory mnemonics. The mnemonics presented here use a combination of the alphabet peg system for remembering letters, the phonetic mnemonic system for remembering numbers, and the images from the above table for remembering the mathematical symbols. If you want, you can also use the numbers from the numeric peg system for remembering numbers.

MEMORIZING QUADRATIC EQUATION FORMULA

Let’s look at the quadratic formula first.

Going from left to right, I turn the formula into a story or scene, taking each number and symbol as a character in the story.

• x
  is an
  x-ray fish
  ; I can see right through its skin to its skeleton.
  
• It is raining heavily. The
  x
  -ray fish is floating in water. The fishcomes on the
  road
  (= sign).
  
• There it sees an
  angry
  (– sign)
  bear
  (b).
  
• Bear is
  confused
  (±) where to go.
  
• He seesa
  bus stand
  (√ ) and decidesto move there.
  
• On the bus stand another
  bear
  is already standing with
  2
  kids on his shoulder (b
  ²
  ).
  
• Besides this there are
  4 apes and a catfighting
  with each other (–4ac).
  
• The bus came and
  2 apes
  came from under the bus stop (
  _2a
  ) and boarded the bus.
  

Try to visualize this as clearly as possible using all your senses. Clearly imagine the location, the clouds above, the smell of the sand, and the sound of rainwater. Hear the noise of apes and cats fighting, the sound of bus. The more clearly you imagine the scene—as if you were actually there—the easier it will be to recall it.

Yes, going through this process takes time, but if you fully imagine it, you will find it unforgettable! Unforgettable means less study for you. It actually saves time! The same process works for memorizing any formula or equation.

MEMORIZING TRIGONOMETRY FORMULAE

Usually when trigonometry is introduced to students, they start mugging up all the ratios and that’s why it become difficult for some students and they develop a phobia for such interesting concepts at the initial stage.

To memorize the
trigonometry ratios
, you just need to memorize this acrostic:

Some people have curly brown hair turned permanently black

That’s all you need to memorize to register the trigonometry ratios in your mind forever. So here you go,

S
ome
P
eople
H
ave

S = P/H

S
in =
P
erpendicular /
H
ypotenuse

C
urly
B
rown
H
air

C = B/H

C
os =
B
ase/
H
ypotenuse

T
urned
P
ermanently
B
lack

T = P/B

T
an =
P
erpendicular/
B
ase

There are 3 more ratios: Cosec, Sec, and Cot. For these, just remember that:

Cosec is the reciprocal of Sin; or
Cosec
= 1/Sin = H/P

Sec is the reciprocal of Cos; or
Sec
= 1/Cos = H/B

Cot is the reciprocal of Tan; or
Cot
= 1/Tan = B/P

Some more formulae from trigonometry:

Formula:
Sin 3A = 3 SinA– 4 Sin
³
A

We can convert the formula into some story using the following codes:

Sin
: Sushmita Sen

3
: tree (rhyme)

A
: Apple (alphabet peg)

– 4
: 4 bad boys

Visualization:

Sushmita Sen
(Sin)
climbs a tree
(3)
to pluck apples
(A)
. As she was trying to jump on other side
(=)
, she gets trapped between tree and apples
(3 Sin A)
. Suddenly four bad boys
(–4)
came and put Sushmita Sen under the tree
(Sin
³
)
and ran away with the apples
(A).

Note:
If you have confusion in one part only, then make association for just that, not the whole formulae.
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MEMORIZING SQUARE ROOTS

1. √
   2 = 1.414
   √2 = shoe (rhyme peg)
   1.414 = r d r = radar
   

   Visualization:
   You are using a radar to locate your shoes in the house.
   

2. √
   3= 1.732
   √
   3=
   tree (rhyme peg)
   1.732= kmn = kumon classes
   

   Visualization:
   You are taking Kumon class under a tree.
   

3. √
   5= 2.236
   √
   5= hive (rhyme peg)
   2.236= n m j = no match
   

Visualization:
There is no match today as there is a big hive on the pitch

Note:
The part before the decimal is already known by simple mathematical logic, so apply the technique in the confusion part only.

In the same way, you can memorize square, cubes, cube roots and reciprocals.

One of our students,
Himmat Bhardwaj,
has made a national record by memorizing all the square roots, cube roots, and reciprocals of all numbers from 1 to 100 upto 12 decimal places, using the above techniques. He also memorized square and cubes of numbers upto 100.

MEMORIZING PHYSICS CONSTANTS

1.
Mass of electron = 9.11 × 10
^–31
kg

Electron = Electral Powder

9.11 = b d d = Buddha

–31 = mat (going down for negative sign)

Since the student knows how to write in the notation form, there is no need to memorize the place of decimal point, which always come after the first digit and is multiplied by powers of 10. So here we are memorizing the confusing part, i.e. the constant value and the degree of 10.

Visualization:

Visualize that
Buddha
(911) is meditating under a tree for a very long period, so you offered him to drink
electral powder
in water. As soon as he drinks it, his
mat
(31) descends
down
(–) because of breaking his fast.

2. Mass of earth = 5.98 × 10
²⁴
kg

5.98 = l p f = lap of

24 = Nehru
(phonetic peg)

Visualization:
Visualize a picture where a model of the earth is placed in the
lap of
(598)
Nehru
(24) and he is trying to weigh it.

Though only some formulae and constants have been discussed here, you may apply the same principles to other formulae.

Not all formulae are confusing and difficult, and the area of confusion may also vary from student to student. You should create your own list of formulae in which you have confusion and can make use of memory techniques to overcome it. As already mentioned, Mathematics is a subject of regular practice, so you need to do enough practice to retain it for a longer time.

21

BIOLOGY

MEMORIZING ANSWERS OF BIOLOGY

Q1. What are the major groups of microorganisms?

Ans.:
There are five major groups of microorganisms:

1. Bacteria:
   They are single-celled disease-causing microorganisms. They can be spiral or rod-shaped.
   
2. Fungi:
   They are mostly multicellular disease-causing microbes. Bread moulds are common examples of fungi.
   
3. Protozoa:
   They mainly include organisms such as
   Amoeba, Plasmodium
   ,etc. They can be unicellular or multicellular.
   
4. Virus:
   Viruses are disease-causing microbes that reproduce only inside the host organism.
   
5. Algae:
   They include multicellular, photosynthetic organisms such as
   Spirogyra, Chlamydomonas
   , etc.
   

Memory Solution:

You can memorize all five microorganisms using the
shape and PNN
method as shown below:

1. Candle
   (1)
   :
   Visualize that you are making use of a
   candle
   in your hand to see the
   back, tea area
   (bacteria)
   . The tea leaves are either
   spiral or rod-shaped
   .
   
2. Duck (2):
   Visualize that
   multiple funny guys
   (fungi–multicellular) are coming out of the mouth of a
   duck
   and as soon as they come out, they start eating rotten
   bread
   .
   
3. Heart (3):
   Deep inside your
   heart
   , you cherish
   photos of zoo
   (
   protozoa
   ). In the zoo, you saw
   one
   tree of
   ambi
   (
   amoeba)
   and
   many plasma TVs
   (multicellular plasmodium)
   on it.
   
4. Chair (4):
   On a
   chair
   , a person with high
   viral fever
   (virus) is sitting inside the
   host’s
   house.
   
5. Hook (5):
   All guys
   (
   algae
   ) are
   photo-sensitive
   (photosynthetic)
   , so you hang them on a
   hook
   to click their photo.