From: w.p.coyne@uk.ac.newcastle Subject: mnemonics-replies listed Here is a list of some of the mnemonics sent in answer to my original question asking for them. They may be of interest to some readers. Does anybody know any for the order of the islands in the West Indies, either north-south (say Virgin Isles to Trinidad & Tobago) or in the reverse direction? __________________________________________________ Summary of contents:- 1 ASTRONOMY 2 TAXONONIC CLASSIFICATION 3 RESISTOR COLOUR CODES 4 GEOLOGICAL TIME PERIODS 5 PI 6 CHEMISTRY 7 MUSIC 8 PHYSICS 9 MATHS 10 GEOGRAPHY __________________________________________________ 1. ASTRONOMY Normal order of planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) Mary's violet eyes make Jack stay up nights perhaps Men very easily make all jobs serve useful needs & purposes My very easy memory jingle seems useful naming planets My Very Excellent Memory Just Stores Up Nine Planets mother very thoughtfully made a jam sandwich under no protest (a == asteroids, t == terra) Rating for stars: oh be a fine girl, kiss me __________________________________________________ 2 TAXONONIC CLASSIFICATION Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species King Phillip came over for good soup King Phillip come out for god sake King Phillip calmly ordered five greasy steaks Killing Pandas Can Often Finish Gentle Species __________________________________________________ 3 RESISTOR COLOUR CODES Bad Boys Rib Our Young Girls But Violet Giggles Wistfully. bad boys rape our young girls but virgins grow wiser Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly - get some now. black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, grey, and white for digits and gold, silver or none for tolerances. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 5% 10% 20% __________________________________________________ 4 GEOLOGICAL TIME PERIODS Periods = Precambrian Cambrian Ordovician Silurian Devonian Carboniferous Permian Triassic Jurassic Cretaceous Tertiary Quart. Sub-periods :- Tert = Palaeocene Eocene Oligocene Miocene Pliocene Quart = Pleistocene Holocene a J Turnbull sent this for the periods Computer Operators Seldom Drive Cars; Parking Tickets Jog Careless Thoughts Quickly b For the sub-periods = Paleo Eo Oligo Mio Plio Pleisto Recent Practically every old man plays poker regularly. c For the periods and sub-periods = Cam Ord Sil Dev Carb Perm Tri Jur Cret Pal Eoc Oligo Mio Plio Pleisto Recent Camels often sit down carefully. Perhaps their joints creak. Possibly early oiling might prevent premature rhumatism. __________________________________________________ 5 PI - word lengths being equal to digits 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 (calculated by Ludolf van Ceulen(1540-1610)) source = beta Mathematics Handbook. 6dp= How I wish I could calculate pi. 7dp= May I have a large container of coffee? ... 11dp= Yes, I have a super motorbike to travel about the roads foolishly. 13dp=See, I have a rhyme assisting my feeble brain, its tasks oft-times resisting. 30dp=Now I, even I, would celebrate In rhymes unapt, the great Immortal Syacusan, rivaled nevermore, Who in his wonderous lore, Passed on before, Left men his guidance How to circles mensurate. (This next came from the magazine Nature last century some time, if anyone knows the exact reference for this, could they send it to Brian.Randell@uk.ac.newcastle ) 30dp=Sir I send a rhyme excelling In sacred truth and rigid spelling Numerical sprites elucidate For me the lecture's dull weight If Nature gain not you complain Tho Dr Johnson fulminate. 31dp=How I want a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy chapters involving quantum mechanics. One is, yes, adequate even enough to produce some fun and pleasure for an instant, miserably brief. __________________________________________________ 6 CHEMISTRY Periodic table (after H, He) Little Beryl Brown chews nuts on Friday HHe: LiBeBCNOFNe: 3 NaMgAlSiPSClAr the fourth row? 5 RbSrYZrNbMoTcRuRhPdAgCdInSnSbTeIXe, Activity of Metals Please Send Little Charlie McLean A Zebra If The Lean Horse Cannot Munch Sweet Grass Pleasantly Potassium Sodium Lithium Calcium Magnesium Aluminium Zinc Iron Tin Lead Hydrogen Copper Mercury Silver Gold Platinum __________________________________________________ 7 MUSIC notes corresponding with the musical staff: EGBDF: Lines in the treble clef from bottom, Every Good Boy Does Fine Elephant's great big dirty feet ACEG: Spaces in bass clef from bottom, All Cars Eat Gas All Cows Eat Grass __________________________________________________ 8. PHYSICS Virgins Are Rare. -> (Volts= Amps x Resistance) The colours of the rainbow, a Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain (refers to Richard III being defeated by Henry Tudor) b Roy G Biv c A name you should remember, As long as you do live, The colours of the rainbow, Go by the name of Roy G Biv. __________________________________________________ 9. MATHS Stats `mnemonic' is a mnemonic for the Poisson distribution with mean m -- M to the N E to the Minus m Over N factorial m n e m o n ! (looks like i) Trig All Stations To Crewe All Slimy Toads Croak -> ( All, Sine, Tangent, Cosine ) ( for remembering in which quadrants ) ( Trig functions were positive. ) CAST = trig funcs which are positive in the four quadrants of the unit circle, starting from the bottom right and working anti-clockwise. Trig functions 1 SohCahToa 2 The Cat Sat On An Orange And Howled Hard (write in 3 lines and read down) 3 Some Old Hulks Carry A Huge Tub Of Ale 4 Some Old Hag Cracked All Her Teeth On Asparagus 5 Silly Old Hitler Caused Awful Headaches To Our Airmen 6 Some Old Hairy Camels Are Hairier Than Others Are 7 Silly Old Harry Caught A Herring Trawling Off America __________________________________________________ 10 GEOGRAPHY The Great Lakes are HOMES; Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior The states on the Western Coast of the USA are COW: California, Oregon, Wahington. The Central Region of the USA is known in the FAA as the MINK states: Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas __________________________________________________