Science Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonics are memory devices that help learners recall larger pieces of information, especially in the form of lists like characteristics, steps, stages, parts, phases, etc.

Name Mnemonics  

In a Name Mnemonic, the 1st letter of each word in a list of items is used to make a name of a person or thing. Sometimes, the items can be rearranged to form a more recollectable name mnemonic. Examples:

ROY G. BIV = colors of the spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.)
Pvt. Tim Hall = Essential amino acids (Phenylanine, Valine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Isolucine, Histidine, Arginine, Leucine, Lysine.

Expression or Word Mnemonic

This is by far the most popularly used mnemonic. To make an Expression or Word mnemonic, the first letter of each item in a list is arranged to form a phrase or word. Examples:

For physical laws dealing with gasses, try these:

Charles' Law: For a constant volume, pressure is directly proportional to temperature.
The simple way to remember Chuck is - If the tank's too hot, you're blown into muck.

Henry's Law: The solubility of a gas increases with pressure.
To remember good old Hank, remember the bubbles in the shaken Coke you drank.

Boyles' Law: At constant temperature, pressure is inversely proportional to volume.
Boyle's law is best of all because it presses gasses awfully small.

Create an Expression Mnemonic for remembering the order of the planets from the sun outward: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

This chemistry mnemonic is a phrase, consisting of words made using the symbols of the first ten elements in the periodic table - Happy Henry Likes Beer But Could Not Obtain Four Nuts

The next 8 elements in the periodic table: Sodium (NA), Magnesium, Aluminum, Silicon, Phosphorous, Sulfur, Chlorine, Argon - Naughty Magpies Always Sing Perfect Songs Clawing Ants

Here is a phrase to help you remember the order of the earth’s atmospheres -               The Strong Man’s Triceps Explode. This stands for: Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere.

The brightest stars in the sky (excluding the Sun) can be remembered with this simple mnemonic: Sir Can Rig A VCR, Pa! They stand for: Sirius in Canis Major, Canopus in Carina, Rigil Kent in Centaurus, Acrturus in Bootes, Vega in Lyra, Capella in Auriga, Rigel in Orion, Procyon in Canic Minor, Achernar in Eridanus

Here is a mnemonic to help you remember the bones of the skull: Old People From Texas Eat spiders. This stands for: Occipital, Parietal, Frontal, Temporal, Ethnoid, Sphenoid

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