Mnemonics

Mnemonics

Scientific/Numeric

Ham Radio

General Class Ham License mnemonics:

• Mnemonics/General

Sea Six (Seasick) - A radar goodie. Radio travels one NAUTICAL mile every six microseconds (nautical mile is 6080 feet, for you landlubbers)

Speed of light = 1 ft / nanosecond (LIDAR/optical applications)

NPN = *N*ot *P*ointing i*N* - emitter lead shows current flow goes out

PNP = *P*ointing i*N* *P*roudly - emitter lead shows current flow goes in

Rainbow

Colors of the rainbow:

• ROY G. BIV

Taxonomy Order

Order of taxonomy in biology:

• (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species)
• King Phillip Chose to Order Fish & Got Sick

IUPAC Prefixes

IUPAC prefixes:

• (methyl ethyl butyl pentyl hexyl heptyl octyl nona deca)
• (methane ethane butane pentane hexane heptane octane nonane decane)
• Ma Eats Pot Brownies, Pa Has Hash Only, No Dope

Roman Numerals

Roman numerals:

• I=1, V=5, X=10, L=50, C=100, D=500, M=1000
• I Value Xylophones Like Cows Dig Milk

Music

The notes represented by the lines on the treble clef stave (bottom to top):

• (E, G, B, D, F)
• Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

And the notes represented by the spaces between the lines:

• (F, A, C, E)
• Furry Animals Cook Excellently

The notes represented by the lines on the bass clef stave (bottom to top):

• (G, B, D, F, A)
• Good Boys Dig Fine Apples

And the notes represented by the spaces between the lines:

• (A, C, E, G)
• All Cows Eat Grass

The order of sharps in music, called the "circle of fifths":

• (F, C, G, D, A, E, B)
• Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle

And in reverse for flat keys the mnemonic can be neatly reversed:

• Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles' Father

Geography

Great Lakes

Great Lakes:

• (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Eerie, Superior)
• HOMES

History/Military

Presidents

1-7:

• Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Quincy Adams, Jackson
• No mnemonic (it's easy to remember the first seven)

8-14:

• (Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler, Polk, Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce)
• Very Happy Turtles Prepare Themselves For Piercings
  • (just remember, Tyler came first - before Taylor)

15-21:

• (Buchannan, Lincoln, Johnson, Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur)
• Brave Little Johnny Grabbed Hold of Garfield's Assassin

22-28:

• (Cleveland, Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson)
• Clever Harry Chooses Mates Ready To Win

29-33:

• (Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman)
• Harding Comes Home Really Tired

33-42: These are all the post-WW II presidents...

• (Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama)
• you're on your own with the rest, because I know them all

Generals

Rankings of Generals:

• Brigadier General (1 star), Major General (2 stars), Lieutenant General (3 stars), General (4 or 5 stars)
• Be My Little General

Civil War

Civil War, 1861:

• (Secession, Forts, Inauguration, Sumter, West Virginia, 1st Bull Run, McClellan Replaces McDowell, Blockade, Port Royal)
• Snobby Fish In Sea Water Voice Brash Rectitude
• Mens' Rogaine Makes Beards Pretty Ridiculous

Civil War, 1862

• (War Order, McClellan Potomac, Monitor Vs. Merrimack, Shiloh, New Orleans, Peninsular Campaign, Stonewall Shenandoah, 2nd Bull Run, Pope, Antietam, Fredericksburg)
• W O M P M V M S N O P C S S B R P A F

Civil War, 1863

• (Emancipation Proclamation, Chancellorsville, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Knocksville)
• E P C V G C C K

Civil War, 1864

• (Wilderness Campaign, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Sherman Atlanta, March To Sea, Lincoln Re-election, Nashville)
• W C S C H P S A M T S L R N

Civil War, 1865

• (Sherman March Carolinas, Grant-Lee Richmond, Appomattox, Lincoln Assassination, Final Surrender)
• S M C G L R A L A F S

References

Lists Useful for Generating Mnemonics

• List of phrasal verbs (good for finding multi-letter verb phrases for generating mnemonics): http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/phrasal-verbs/

• At Thesaurus.com, click on a letter under "Browse Dictionary", and you'll see a couple of different multi-word phrases; click on any grouping, and you'll see even more multi-word phrases: http://thesaurus.com/