List of visual mnemonics
Encyclopedia
Visual mnemonics are a type of mnemonic
that work by associating an image with characters or objects whose name sounds like the item that has to be memorized.
s can be memorized by their shapes, so that:
0 -looks like an egg, or a ball;
1 -a pencil, or a candle;
2 -a duck, or a swan;
3 -an ear;
4 -a sail, a yacht;
5 -a key;
6 -a comet;
7 -a knee;
8 -a snowman;
9 -an apostrophe, or comma.
Image:Camel_zoo_Belgium.jpg|:A Bactrian camel
Image:Camelus_dromedarius_Dvur_zoo_1.jpg|:A Dromedary camel
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Mnemonic
A mnemonic , or mnemonic device, is any learning technique that aids memory. To improve long term memory, mnemonic systems are used to make memorization easier. Commonly encountered mnemonics are often verbal, such as a very short poem or a special word used to help a person remember something,...
that work by associating an image with characters or objects whose name sounds like the item that has to be memorized.
Digits
DigitNumerical digit
A digit is a symbol used in combinations to represent numbers in positional numeral systems. The name "digit" comes from the fact that the 10 digits of the hands correspond to the 10 symbols of the common base 10 number system, i.e...
s can be memorized by their shapes, so that:
0 -looks like an egg, or a ball;
1 -a pencil, or a candle;
2 -a duck, or a swan;
3 -an ear;
4 -a sail, a yacht;
5 -a key;
6 -a comet;
7 -a knee;
8 -a snowman;
9 -an apostrophe, or comma.
Biochemistry
- Visual mnemonics are among the best ways to learn biochemical cycles (i.e. www.wikinem.org). Biochemical cycles (i.e., the urea cycle or the citric acid cycle) and their metabolites can be represented by means of hands and fingers (visual imagery mnemonics) which are associated to tales (narrative mnemonics). A hand, depending on its characteristics (e.g. having or not having a fingernail or a nail lunula), represents a biochemical structure and its associated chemical term (see further on this point under Wikinem visual mnemonics for biochemistry: Citric Acid Cycle by Wikinem or Urea Cycle by Wikinem).
- A visual mnemonic for the drug hydralazineHydralazineHydralazine is a direct-acting smooth muscle relaxant used to treat hypertension by acting as a vasodilator primarily in arteries and arterioles...
could be represented as "lazy hydra" that is lying on a beach holding a sign "NO more work". "NO" in the above case symbolizes Nitrous oxideNitrous oxideNitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas or sweet air, is a chemical compound with the formula . It is an oxide of nitrogen. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic...
, which is related to the drug's mechanism of action. For examples of this technique, see http://www.mediglyphics.com/public/Pharmacology/. NO is the symbol for Nitric OxideNitric oxideNitric oxide, also known as nitrogen monoxide, is a diatomic molecule with chemical formula NO. It is a free radical and is an important intermediate in the chemical industry...
, which has a markedly different effect on the body... - The symbols for the thirteen biologically important elements spell CHOPKINS CaFe Mg NaCl, or C. Hopkins Cafe [food tastes] m[ighty] g[ood] with salt (NaCl).
Zoology
- A Bactrian CamelBactrian camelThe Bactrian camel is a large, even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of central Asia. It is presently restricted in the wild to remote regions of the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts of Mongolia and Xinjiang. A small number of wild Bactrian camels still roam the Mangystau Province of southwest...
's back is shaped like the letter B. A DromedaryDromedaryThe dromedary or Arabian camel is a large, even-toed ungulate with one hump on its back. Its native range is unclear, but it was probably the Arabian Peninsula. The domesticated form occurs widely in North Africa and the Middle East...
's back is shaped like the letter D.
Image:Camel_zoo_Belgium.jpg|:A Bactrian camel
Image:Camelus_dromedarius_Dvur_zoo_1.jpg|:A Dromedary camel
Calendar
- A mnemonic for the days of the months is not a rhyme or a jingleJingleA jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
, but a gestalt. Whereas the traditional mnemonic simply associates the name of the month with the number of days, this one emphasizes the sequence. The 31 and less-than-31-day months would be easy to remember if they simply alternated, but the pattern of month lengths is not that simple. They alternate until the fourth 31-day month, July, which is immediately followed by another 31-day month. Since the human hand has four fingers, one can, given an appropriate mind-set, perceive this pattern in a view of the knuckles of two fists, held together. The raised knuckles can be seen as the 31-day months, the dips between them as the 30-day-months-and-February, and the gap between the hands ignored. (Thus: left-hand-pinky-knuckle = January, dip = February, left-hand-ring-knuckle = March, dip = April, and so on to left-hand-index-knuckle = July; then continue with right-hand-index-knuckle = August, dip = September, etc).
Phases of the Moon
- "DOC" represents phases of the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
by shape as viewed from the northern hemisphere: "D" is the waxing moon; "O" the full moon; and "C" the waning moon. - In the Southern HemisphereSouthern HemisphereThe Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, the moon phases appear in reverse, with the sequence being "COD" - "C" is the waxing moon; "O" the full moon; and "D" the waning moon.
- A simple English saying - Dog comes in (the room), Cat goes out.
- From an astronomical point of view, remember the alternative name "Charles' Wain" for the Big DipperBig DipperThe Plough, also known as the Big Dipper or the Saptarishi , is an asterism of seven stars that has been recognized as a distinct grouping in many cultures from time immemorial...
- "wain" being pronounced just like "wane".
- A LithuanianLithuanian languageLithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
mnemonic is that the waxing moon at its first (lith:priešpilnis) quarter phase looks like a 'p', and the waning moon at its last (lith:delčia) quarter looks like a 'd'. - A FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
mnemonic is that the waxing moon at its first (fr:premier) quarter phase looks like a 'p', and the waning moon at its last (fr:dernier) quarter looks like a 'd'. - In GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the curve of the Moon was traditionally compared to the beginning stroke of the handwritten small letters a (Abnehmen = waning) and z (Zunehmen = waxing), but since this really makes sense only when thinking of the obsolete German handwritingSütterlinSütterlinschrift , or Sütterlin for short, is the last widely used form of the old German blackletter handwriting . In Germany, the old German cursive script developed in the 16th century, replacing the Gothic handwriting at the same time that bookletters developed into the Fraktur typeface...
it is rapidly falling into disuse. - A more modern GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
version compares the Moon to a pair of round brackets (German: Klammern):
- ( = Klammer auf –> Abnehmen = waning
- ) = Klammer zu –> Zunehmen = waxing
- Another northern hemisphere mnemonic, which works for most Romance languagesRomance languagesThe Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
, says that the Moon is a liar: it spells "C", as in crescere (Latin for "to grow") when it wanes, and "D" as in decrescere ("decrease") when it waxes. Someone has it that Ancient Romans explained this with the fact that Gods looked at the vault of heaven from above (behind), so they read the letters mirrored.
- Another northern hemisphere mnemonic, which works for most Romance languages
- On the southern hemisphere, in spanish-speaking countries, the C represents "Creciente" (waxing) and D "Decreciente" (waning).
- In the Polish languagePolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
and Czech languageCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, the D and C can be interpreted as verbs describing the Moon's action: "Księżyc się ..." (The moon is ...) "Dopełnia" (waxing) and "Cofa" (waning), in Czech "Měsíc ..." (The moon is ...) "dorůstá" (waxing) and "couvá" (waning). Also, in Polish one might remember that "Księżyc będzie ..." (The moon will be ...) "Duży" (big) or "Cienki" (thin). - A RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
mnemonic is that the waxing moon is right part of letter 'Р', which is the first letter of word "растущая" (growing) and waning moon looks like 'C' which is first letter of the word "старая" (old). - A NorwegianNorwegian languageNorwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
mnemonic is "When it looks like a comma, it's coming!" (nor.: "Når han ser ut som et komma, så kom'an / kom'ern!"). - In Hebrew the shape of the letter is also correlated to what the rising and waning moon. It is rising when it looks like the cursive ז which is also the first word in זורח (to rise) and the moon is waning when it looks like the cursive ג which is also the first work of גורע (to take away).
- In the Polish language
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Right/Left hand mnemonics
- In electromagnetism, right and left hand rules are used to find the direction of force and current respectively. Here the hands are used as an aid for remembering the directions of force and current.
- The right hand thumb rule is an another hand mnemonic. Here the curled hand is used and the fingers points in the direction of magnetic field when thumb points the direction of current through the conductor.