## 11. MNEMONICS

#### Subsections

- 11. mnemonics - general
- 11.1 mnemonics
- 11.2 mathematics
- 11.3 computer science
- 11.4 physics
- 11.5 chemistry
- 11.6 biology and medicine
- 11.7 earth sciences
- 11.8 miscellany

### 11.5 CHEMISTRY

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chemistry
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    PERIODIC TABLE

    From: mjh22@mrao.cam.ac.uk (Martin Hardcastle)

     OK, _my_ high school teacher had the following:

    "Hell! Here're Little Beatniks Brandishing Countless Numbers Of Flick
    kNives."

     H He Li Be B C N O F er, Ne

    "Naughty Maggie Always Sips Pure Sweet Claret"

     N Mg Al Si P S Cl

    He couldn't remember any more after that, so nor can I.

    From: kirrilyr@union3.su.swin.edu.au (Kirrily Robert - SINN Editor)

    "Hi Helen, Little Betty Boron Can Not Often Find Neddy.  Naughty Meg Always
    SiPS Chlorine in <thinko - no idea what this is> Kenny's Car"

    From: dlf@torfree.net (Doug Forkes)
    Harry HElped LIttle BEnny Balmer Carry

    Neat Oysters From Neptune's NAtural MenaGerie ALways SInging Polite Sonnets
    CLearly ARf Key CAsually.

    From: "stephen" <yakult@hkguy.com>
     Hi! He Lies Because Boron CanNot Oxidize Fluorine.  Necromantic Nato
    Mg(abbv. for make Good) All Silicon Ports.  Superman Clean Argon's
    K-Capture.

    (original scripts by Rex Sham, modified by Stephen Wong)

    From: Charles Williams <s216@dcta.demon.co.uk>
     Healthy Little Beggar Boys Catching Newts Or Fish

    From: dbromage@metz.une.edu.au (David Bromage)
     When I was an undergraduate I heard a good one for the Lanthanide series.
    Little Cute People Need Plenty Sex Every Given Time Despite having Enough
    Through Young Love. (La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Th Yb Lu)

    From: "Rebecca M. Chamberlin" <rlmiller@lanl.gov>

     A mnemonic for the lanthanide elements (Ce - Lu): Currently parties never
    provide sexy English girls that drink heavily, even though you look.

    From: "Killinchy" <mo-jo@shaw.ca>
    Lanthanides:
    Lancashire County Police Need Player for Second Euphonium, Guard The Drill
    Hall Even To Your Last

    John Owen  (Royal College of Advanced Technology, Salford, ARIC, mid
    sixties)

    From: mec@treflan.shout.net (Michael Elizabeth Chastain)

    The second half of the lanthanides:

        The Dancers Have Everything That You Love
        Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium

    From: Mike Brown <mdbrown2@uiuc.edu>

     I'll list a few of mine. The rest make reference to various parts of the
    anatomy or just names of people I know. I have them for all but the inner
    transitions, your mileage may vary.

    Group: I Her Little Name Klub; Ruby, Cessie and Francie.

    II Before Megan Can Start Barry Raids the alkaline earth metals

    III Boring Al's Galloping Indian on a horse named Thallium

    IV Carbon has Silicon German (word for breasts) and Tin Sin feinn drinks
        in a Lead Pub (Sn for tin and Pb for lead)

    V Now Paddy's Arse And Timony's Sub all go swimming in a Bismuth tub

    Group VI and VII I already knew

    0 His Noblemen Are Kwite Xtra Rude

    From: Joel Gordon <jgordon@taconic.net>

     Many years ago (1963) I was required to learn the entire periodic table
    (except the transuranium elements) for a course entitled "Advanced
    Inorganic Chemistry." While I did not have any mnemonics, I did find that
    the entire table can be PRONOUNCED, and I memorized it that way, a row at a
    time. I still receive requests from my daughter in college to recite it for
    her friends, an exercise which can make one feel like an incredible geek.

    From: Martin Ystenes <ystenes@kjemi.unit.no>

     This one is probably best in Norwegian, but as far as I can see it can be
    easily transferred to other languages. I teach it to my students every
    year:

    Hy! He!  LiBe BoCNOF Ne!  NaMgAl SiPSClAr KaCaScaTi VaCroMan FeCoNiCu "Zed
    Enn" GaGe AsSe BroKr

    I wonder who will be the first one to include this in a song.

    From: David Mascord <david@dtvm31.demon.co.uk>

     As an undergraduate I learnt to sound the first 36 symbols as one very
    long word: HHeLiBeBCNOFNeNaMgAlSiPSClArKCaScTiVCrMnFeCoNiCuZnGaGeAsSeBr
     Essentially every consonant is sounded with "c" replaced by "k" and the two
    initial "h" sounded as "huh" "huh".  I can still remember it so it
    obviously worked for me!

    From: Peter Swindells <cs1966@wlv.ac.uk>
     I remembered the two short periods as two separate words that went (more
    or less phonetically:

    Helibebcanofnee

    and

    Namgalsipsclar

    From: lawson@pax.llnl.gov (William S. Lawson)
    From: DPierce@world.std.com

    (Richard D Pierce) How about Feynman's mnemonic for the third period of the
    periodic table: "NeNa, M'gAl, SiPS Chlorine"?

        H H He
        Li Be B C N O F Ne
        Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar

    From: cummings@u.washington.edu (Mike Cummings)
    Let me offer this one, see

    if it's any better.  A High School teacher taught me, "H!
    HeLiBebCNOFNeNaMgAlSiPSiCl!"  Not much help, huh?  Here's a pronunciation
    key:

    "H!" (Just make a loud H, then pause, looking as if you're about to pounce.
    Nice dramatic effect that gets the listener's attention.)
    "Heh-Lee-Beb-K'Noff-" (Easy so far) "N'Nahm" (That's N(schwa) - Nahm[rhymes
    with bomb]) "Gall-Sip-Sickle"

    From: harper@kauri.vuw.ac.nz (John Harper)
    And in chemistry we eventually

    learnt to pronounce the following, though each line seems harder than the
    one before:
            HHeLiBeBCNOF
            NeNaMgAlSiPSCl
            AKCaScTiVCrMnFeCoNiCuZnGaGeAsSeBr (this was before they changed it
    to ArKCa...)
            KrRbSrYZrNbMoTcRuRhPdAgCdInSnSbTeI but I must admit I didn't find
    the rare earths memorable this way.

    From: Dave Edmonds <de8288@bristol.ac.uk>
     This is how I always remembered the first two periods of the periodic
    table...

    Happy Henry Likes Beer But Can Not Often Find N-E.

    From: "Manish Agarwal" <xmanish@flashmail.com>

     limping native king robbed caeser's frame (li na k rb cs fr) better maggi
    can straighten bad radium) back allocate game in thallium caravan singh
    gets standard plumbing never produce asthamatic anti-biotics
                                        (antimony - bismuth)
    oxford sometimes sees terrible poverty

    From: Tim Prior <trin0432@ermine.ox.ac.uk>

    Lace Producers of Normandy Primarily Smoke European Goods but Troublesome
    Dying Holds Ertha To Make Yabbelling Lunacy.

    If sort of works for the elements La through Lu and includes both letters
    of the element (La ce  Pr oducers of NormanDy ....).

    From: "ULA" <ulj@poczta.fm>

    This one is in Polish
    I invented it when I had to remember them all with numbers even - but
    numbers one can easily find knowing the position of the element.
    So I grouped them in columns it's usually more handy.  And made to a
    dialogue

    -Hej Lipiec Nadchodzi Kanikula zRobmy Cos Francuzom!
    -Bez Magii Cale Starania Bardziej URaduja
    Scandynawie Y Tragedia Lament Actywny!
    -Ti tani Zyrkowcu! Do Portu Ruszaj Fordem (rutherford)
    -Wa! nad Niebem Tanczy Dublin,
    kto Chromy Moli boi Wol w ramke Se aborybegenow, bo Mnie Technika nadRenska
    Bohrmaszyna Zelazna Ruchem Oniesmiela Halasem!
    -Co Rhodzi Irytacje, Mlotku, bo Nim Pallad Atena i Emilia Plater w uuuni
    Cud Agromny Autem Ululaja, poZnasz Co dmucha w GrUub. (Zn Cd Hg Uub)
    -BAl Gala Indianie w Talibanie, Wegiel Sila Germanow Sen Publiki
    -Niech Pan Asem Sobie Bije Oraz Sadzi Selery Telefoniczny Polonisto!
    -Flaszki Oclil Brat Idiotyczny swiAt!
    -Hej, Ne on! to zArgon w Krypcie Ks(i)eni a on Rad!

    and lanthanides:

    Lampe Czerwona, Pradym i Nowy dym Prometeusz Samarytanin Europie Gab (dal!)
    w dolinie Te(r)b, a Dyspozytor Holmes wErble Tuli I te werble Lutuje
    A gdym Thorem Pro taktU raNem plul, nie Pluta z Ameryki Ur, a Berkla z
    Kalifornii jedna skala ferma! ten Men dolewa, Nobliwy, Lo renu oliwy!

    and translation:
    -Hey, July is coming, hot period, shall we do something to the French
    people?
    -Without magic all our endeavours will rather make Scandinavia happy and
    here is the tragedy, active lament.
    -You cheap circus employee, rush to the port in your ford!
    -Ha, over the sky Dublin is dancing, those who are lame beware moths, prefer
    putting into a frame Aborigines,
    because i am afraid of Ren River's technology, iron Bohrmachine intimidates
    me with its movement and noise.
    -And that leads to irritation, you fool, because before Pallad Athena and
    Emilia Plater (she was Polish heroine in 19th century) will lull great
    miracle with their car, you will know what blows into the grave.
    -Ball, elegancy, Indians in Taliban, coal is the power of Germans, the dream
    of public
    -Take with the ace, sir, and plant celeries, telephonic Polish degreed (oh,
    i mean someone who studied Polish literature)
    -brother imposed duty on bottles, our world is crazy
    -hey, not him, it's jargon in nuns' superior's crypt, and he is happy!

    lanthanides:
    red lamp, old smoke and new smoke Prometheus Samaritan gave Europe in Teb
    Valley, and (dyspozytor i can not satisfactorily translate, that is a job
    anyway) Holmes hugs drums and these drums he solders.
    and when i in the morning along a track for the tact spat, not Pluto's from
    America but Berkel's from California one stone is a farm, this man, noble
    one, pours oil in the Ren River (German river, i do not know English
    equivalent).

    It really sounds in Polish like a periodic table.

chemistry
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    From Joachim Verhagen

    We got german, french and russian in this thread. Time for a dutch one.

    The electro-negativity of Metals: Karolientje NAaktgeboren MaG ALleen op
    ZoN en FEestdagen SNoepen.
      Caroline nakedborn may only on sun- and Hollidays eat sweets.

    ProBeer Haar te Kussen(=Cu) achter(Ag) de Platina AUto.

      Try her to kiss behind the platina car.

     (Naaktgeboren is a real Dutch family name)

    From: matthew@tadtec.co.uk (Matthew Sweet)
    But in english: Please Send

    Little Charlie McKie A Zebra If The Horse Can't Munch Sweet Green Plants

    Potassium, Sodium, Lithium, Calcium, Magnesium, Aluminium, Zinc, Iron,
    ?Tin?  Hydrogen Copper, ?Mercury?, Silver, Gold, Platinum

    From: "foresight" <foresightlab@btopenworld.com>

    "Christian Bruun" <homo.sapiens@kollegiegaarden.dk> wrote in message
    news:60h0qu47ckb3hio90n0hir6bqoij1vvovt@4ax.com...
    >
    > Hey
    >
    > Are there anybody which can some mnemonic rules to learn
    > chemistry/biochemistry,
    >
    > Everything has interrest
    >
    > Christian Bruun

    Simplified metal electronegativities:
    Kill                          (K)
    Nasty                      (Na)
    Cats                        (Ca)
    Mangle                    (Mg)
    All                           (Al)
    Zebras                     (Zn)
    Feed                        (Fe)
    Snarling                   (Sn)
    Plump                      (Pb)
    Hyenas                    (H)
    Curse                      (Cu)
    Hogs                       (Hg)
    Again                       (Ag)
    Audibly                    (Au)
    Please                       (Pt)

    Probably doesn't translate to other languages, the best way is to invent
    your own, the sillier the better.

chemistry
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    From: "Neil Davis" <n_cupid@yahoo.co.uk>
    Electron Shells
    To remember SPDF

    Some
    People
    Don't
    F***

chemistry
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    From: kemp@resptk.bhp.com.au (Ian P Kemp)

    Oil Rig !
      (oxidation is loss, reduction is gain ) (of electrons)

    From: Rik Deitsch <EDEI8384@ACC.FAU.EDU> For those who forget re-dox orders
    . .

    LEO the lion goes GER

    lose electrons (=) oxidation
    gain electrons (=) reduction

    From: Jonathan Silverlight <jsilver@merseia.fsnet.co.uk>

    That's the one I was taught about 25 years ago :-)
     but ORE is easier - oxidation is removal of electrons.

chemistry
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    From: "jerry" <jmeccari@ocmvm.cnyric.org>

     Diatomic molecules= Help Our Needy Class Find Brains Immediately

    From: Germy123@aol.com (Jeremy)
    Our teacher taught us a name for the

    diatomic molecules and it always worked for me -- Brinclhof (pronounced
    Brinklehoff).  Br I N Cl H O F

chemistry
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    From: kemp@resptk.bhp.com.au (Ian P Kemp)

    Scandinavian television corrupts many french coalmen's nieces and cousins
    Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn

    (1st row of transition metals)

    From: AT <AdThompson@wanadoo.fr>

    Scottish Vicars Make Fur Coats and Knickers

    Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn

chemistry
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    From: Darren Schilberg (dschilberg@pobox.com)

       And for all those learning chemists who do not yet know how to mix acid
    and water ...
       Add acid to watuh
       Just as you oughta.

chemistry
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    From: mlynd@cix.compulink.co.uk (Michael Lynd)
    If a soluble salt you wish

    to provide You first on the acid settle; Then neutralize with the proper
    oxide, hydroxide, carbonate or metal.

    But if the salt will not dissolve, A simpler means you'll try: Precipitate
    it, you resolve, Then filter, wash and dry.

chemistry biology
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    From: Rik Deitsch <EDEI8384@ACC.FAU.EDU>

    The amino acids:

    Hydrophilic Neutral: Girls Are Very Loving If Men Can Prepare Perfect Tea
    (Glycine, Alanine, Valine, Leucine, Isoleucine, Methionine, Cysteine,
    Proline, Phenylalanine, Tryptophan)

    Positive: Alexander Graham Spoke Through (the) Telephone (Asparagine,
    Glutamine, Serine, Threonine, Tyrosine)

    Neutral: Laurel And Hardy (Lysine, Arginine, Histidine)

    Negative: Aspartate and Glutamate (all that's left. . . )

chemistry
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    From: david.bostwick@chemistry.gatech.edu (David Bostwick)
    Sugars - All altruists gladly make gum in gallon tanks.

    These are over 30 years old, and the silly things are still stuck in my head.

chemistry biology
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    From: ckwcheng@acs4.acs.ucalgary.ca (Calvino Ka-wing Cheng)

    Biochemical pathways: Aldohexoses: All Altruists gladly make gum in gallon
    tanks.

chemistry biology
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    From: "Manish Agarwal" <zmanish@myrealbox.com>

    All altruists gladly make gum in gallon tanks:
    Allose, Altros, Glucose, Mannose, gulose, idose, galactose, tallose.

    if the numbers 7 to 0 are written in binary, and the one's arrange from
    bottom to top , the represent the above aldo hexoses (in rosanoff's
    classification)

    example
    glucose:
    1101:
     0
      |-
    -|
      |-
      |-

chemistry biology
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    From: Steven Bedrick <bedrick@bigfoot.com>

    This one covers the Grignard alcohol formation reactions. I got it from one
    of my Organic Chemistry profs, who claims to have found it in a drawer at
    Rutgers University around 1976. He attributes it to F. Westheimer of
    Harvard University.

    (sung to the tune of "America The Beautiful")

    Oh Grignard, the Beautiful

    The carbonyl is polarized, The carbon end is plus.  A nucleophile will thus
    attack The carbon nucleus.  A Grignard yields an alcohol, Of types there
    are but three; It makes a bond to correspond From C to shining C.

    A Secondary's synthesis Requires an aldehyde.  For Tertiary, a carbanion
    And ketone may collide.  When Grignards meet H2CO The product's Primary.
    They stick like glue to CO2 Join C to lonely C.

chemistry
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    From: "Kerry L. Opel" <kopel@dragonbbs.com>
     For remembering the saturated dicarboxylic acids up to 10 carbons:
     Oh My, Such Good Apple Pie, Sweet As Sugar
     For: Oxalic, Malonic, Succinic, Glutaric, Adepic, Pimelic, Subaric,
    Azelaic, Sebacic

chemistry
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    From: Chuk Gleason <kb4mdz@earthlink.net>

    I'd like to contribute one, which was thought up by a cousin of mine
    in our (U.S) high school chemistry class in about 1974-75.  I'd
    especially like to give him credit since I _still_ remember it
    (proving its usefulness, eh?), and also, as a bit of a memorial - he
    passed away earlier this year of medical complications.  His name was
    Dennis Covert, and a very funny guy, always creative.

    The Dennis Covert (memorial) Hydrocarbon Mnemonic:
    "Mother Eats Phone Books, Pink Hats, Suffers Oxygen Nitrogen Discomfort"

    Methane, Ethane, Propane, Butane, Pentane, Hexane, Septane, Octane,
    Nonane, Decane.

    From: "Sheelagh Halstead" <HalsteadS@nu.ac.za>

    I loved the mneumonic my senior chem class came up with a few years ago for
    the first six alkanes:

    Monica excites President Bill, poor Hilary.

    Unfortunately it's not as topical now.

    Sheelagh Halstead

chemistry
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    From: "Florian Konig" <jenflo@bestweb.net>

    Gibbs Energy:
    Giving Homework Tonight Sucks (G = H - TS)

chemistry
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    From: "Florian Konig" <jenflo@bestweb.net>

    Electrochemical/-lytical cells:
    Two animals -- AN OX and a RED CAT (anode -> oxidation, cathode ->
    reduction)

chemistry
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    From: Danny Sichel <Dsichel@hotmail.com>

    In a cation, the electron has gone on va-cation.

next page | Index | Comments and Contributions

#### Subsections

- 11. mnemonics - general
- 11.1 mnemonics
- 11.2 mathematics
- 11.3 computer science
- 11.4 physics
- 11.5 chemistry
- 11.6 biology and medicine
- 11.7 earth sciences
- 11.8 miscellany

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