Reg. Biology and memorization

[the Undergrad]

Okay, I have a huge bio exam approaching soon...may 8th to be exact...it'll cover four chapters consisting of bacteria and viruses, kingdom protista, kingdom fungi, and the plant kingdom (seedless plants)...Yup, not fun stuff So yeah, theres lots of info(names of phylums, species' names, other enzymes, etc etc.) that I have to gurge down and use it effectively on the big day. This is my first bio class so I was just wondering what methods you guys used to memorize SO many things. C'mon, help me out!

How did you guys memorize the names of the phylums for each kingdom? (I know many of you are really good at this...plz share your method!)

What technique did y'all use?

what works? what doesnt work?

how often did you use ur method to memorize?

Please please please please don't ignore this....don't just read it and mumble, "stupid undergrad"...plz reply! I can not stress the "please" more...

Thanks !

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[dumbest premed]

Try to get your hands on "The Memory Book," by Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas. It has lots of good techniques. I read it during high school and have been using methods from it since then. It worked very well for me.

 

[UNMC2006]

Actually, I really don't know what to tell you. I will so, however, that you better get used to learning how to memorize large quantities of information in a relatively short periods of time. This will be your life in medical school. However, the information is a bit more provocative in medical school.

I never had to memorize all that stuff, good thing, it doesn't sound like any fun. Look for mneumonics if there are any available, or try to make your own. We find in medical school that gross sexual mneumonics tend to be the ones that easily pop into your head on test day.

Good luck, keep us informed on your progress!

 

[doctorperez]

using Index cards is usually helpful for most students. Regards.

 

[Chronotropic]

Memorization will only take you so far. Learn to study and truly understand things. It took me 3 years in college to figure this out. For instance if something falls into a certaint phylum find out why it and other things are put in that phylum. Do they share a common characteristic? Is this characteristic implied in the name?

And don't look as this as useless information. Become interested in the subject.

 

[the Undergrad]

Thanks you guys...

I like the idea of using mneumonics...

index cards are ok...they make me fall asleep though...

I'll check that book out, dumbest premed, thanks...

THERE HAS TO BE MORE WAYS! C'mon please help out!

 

[jmed]

Sorry kiddo. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and memorize it. I think danwsu is right on about trying to understand the why's and wherefore's of all the taxonomy stuff- that helped me get through my bio 101 as well. Actually, some of the animal taxonomy will be useful when you study developmental biology ("ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny", right?). Anyway, I am also a big fan of index cards- keep them with you all of the time and scan through them on the bus, between classes, at the coffee shop, and in the bathroom- frequent review will help to consolidate the info better, rather than trying to sit down and do them all at once. Good Luck on your test!!!

 

[Pre-Dent-David]

I am in a similar bio class now and yes it does suck especially since our class doesnt follow the book, and my ta for lab gives the toughest quizzes out of all the ta's..... BSBSBSBSSBSBS At least the FINAL was standardized and that let me bail my ass out. They need TO ****ING FOLOW THE BOOK. Why did they make us buy a 130 dollar text book if we never even use it?

 

[dreaminOfMD>.<]

I don't know if this'll work for you but it has always worked wonders for me...

A day or two before the exam (so the info is fresh in my brain) I put ear plugs on and sit in a comfortable position and memorize....for hours and hours straight....the only distraction is if I have to go to the restroom. You'd be amazed at how much you can soak up if you just avoid distractions.

Speaking of exams, I should start getting ready for all THREE of mine coming up in two weeks

Best of luck, I'm sure you'll do well

 

[ASDIC]

the key to memorization is not just reading the material, but rather reading it and attempting to recall it. i would suggest that u write and practice all the information u recall...good luck!

 

[steve007]

meditate on it. close your eyes and run facts/formulas or whatever through your mind.

 

[UCLAstudent]

Flashcards. They're a pain to make, but they will almost definitely work. Plus, making them counts as studying because you have to write the information down. Flashcards have been my ONLY method of studying for every biology exam that I have taken in college... for me, it is worth the effort. But, it really depends on how you best learn, etc.

 

[HessExpress]

Don't even bother with stupid flashcards or index card notes!!!!! This is college, you are preparing for medical school....are you planning on using "flashcards" in med school??? Just read the books and read 'em again, and then again! Thats all it takes, don't waste time w/ stupid flashcards.

 

[VienneseWaltz]

Originally posted by HessExpress
Don't even bother with stupid flashcards or index card notes!!!!! This is college, you are preparing for medical school....are you planning on using "flashcards" in med school??? Just read the books and read 'em again, and then again! Thats all it takes, don't waste time w/ stupid flashcards.

Lots of people use them in medical school. Making them isn't a waste of time, as someone pointed out. You learn the material while you make them.

Me, I don't plan on using them in med school. Because I am a shameless geek and will have a lot of free time this summer (for the first time in 6 or 7 years), I plan to write a flash-card program.

 

[lil pook]

I draw cartoons and make up ridiculous stories about whatever it is that I am trying to memorize. Sexually eplicit things or gross stuff works well too.

 

[fun8stuff]

just read your notes 4 or 5 times and while reading the stuff really think about it and concentrate on what the page looks like. each time you read it try to picture what is ahead or coming up. then on the test when you have a question about something try to picture the page that the topic is on. also, try and see the big picture as you read it. try to relate everything together, or connect all the information together in one long "memory chain". that's what i always did and still do. it works great and doesnt take taht long.

 

[fun8stuff]

i agree with notecards sucking. they take too much time to make. it is true that you would learn the material while making them, but you learn just as much by reading your notes and you can go over your notes 5 times in the amount of time it would take you to write the note cards. so unless you can get someone else to make the notecards for you, it's pretty much a waste of time. the only time that i used notecards and they were helpful was for memorzing slides in anatomy and physiology... all i had to do was print the pictures off a website, which did not take long.

 

[sunflower79]

Flash cards worked best for me for very specific things, e.g. amino acid structures. They're good if you can make them over time, not if you're cramming.

Folding a piece of paper in half lengthwise and writing terms on one side, and definitions on the other works for me too. (the "cornell method")

For everything else, I just write major/important things I know the least on a sheet of paper and look at it while I'm in transit. I love diagrams, so e.g. for physiology I drew them and practiced drawing them until I could do it without looking.

Making up crazy stories and drawings definitely helped me remember vocabulary plus it was fun!

Good time to review concepts: in the shower, cooking, in transit, waiting for appts, etc.

Good luck!

 

[QHamp]

I reread my notes until I thourghly understand the connections between everything. For the things that absolutely must be memorized , I first try creating mnemonics or pictures. As a last resort i will use flashcards. i'm not the biggest fan of flashcards, as it is hard to make associations between the material and 150 cards that look alike.

AS I tell other people, - make associations between the stuff you're learning and something else in that field. I've even made associations with things outside of the field... like earwax when studying something in psychology You'd be surprised what works

And I'll have to try that earplug idea. Sounds like it might come in handy come finals week.

 

[the Undergrad]

Wow, thats great, thanks you guys

Specifically, I like the earplug idea and making mnemonics is great as well. Hmm, since I live at home, its virtually impossible to use the earplugs and still be able to study cuz my little bro is always prancing around. I'll just take off to a nearby library.

Those of you who use mnemonics, can you give me an example becuz i'm coming up with absolutely bizarre ones. Like for Phylum Acrasiomycota, the connection I made was with "fellatio" since it kinda rhymes with "Acrasio" I'm just afraid that what if I get too much into this association crap and accidently write "fellatiomycota" on the essay That would be like the most embarassing thing....

I agree abt the flashcards. They take way too long to make and knowing myself, they'll never get completed.

Well, good advice so far...I gotta check out that book that someone mentioned in here..."The Memory Book," right? Has anyone here have tried it before?

Hmmm...anyone else wanna help out? Thanks

 

[VienneseWaltz]

Originally posted by the Undergrad
I agree abt the flashcards. They take way too long to make and knowing myself, they'll never get completed.

Hey, you gotta do what works for you. I find that writing something down is worth reading it 5x, so for me it works out. Good luck!

 

[ASDIC]

Originally posted by VienneseWaltz
Hey, you gotta do what works for you. I find that writing something down is worth reading it 5x, so for me it works out. Good luck!

I agree with you. I tried flashcards but it does not work if u are working with a lot of information. There is a huge difference between studying and recalling the info mentally AND studying and recalling the info through writing. The latter will always work because you will be more confident and will remember wut u wrote.

 

[UCLAstudent]

Originally posted by thekegalman
I agree with you. I tried flashcards but it does not work if u are working with a lot of information. There is a huge difference between studying and recalling the info mentally AND studying and recalling the info through writing. The latter will always work because you will be more confident and will remember wut u wrote.

I think it really depends on your learning style... I found the opposite to be true. Flashcards work best for me with HUGE amounts of information, especially on short answer/writing tests. I LOVE memorizing, though. I also agree with the person that said that flashcards WON'T work if you make them last minute. They take SO long to make... they work best for me if I make them in a time period of about two weeks and then start memorizing them the week of the exam. It consumes a lot of time, but it is my personal best method for studying.

 

[fun8stuff]

check the MCAT forum for mneumonics... a couple days before the MCAT there was this huge post of a ton of mneumonics that people were using... so either do a search or look around 4-26, 4-25. 4-24...

 

[DrMom]

they are mnemonics, not mnumonics

There are websites with some good ones. Here's one: medical mnemonics

 

[the Undergrad]

Thanks a lot Dr.Mom! That site is just great and some of the mnemonics are just roflmao .... too good...i have a better understanding of how to go abt in making my own now...


As for flashcards, they're ok...just not the best option for me

Thanks everyone for your ideas

 

[CoverMe]

Well... I'm one of those evil lab TA's... and the people who come through and kick a$$ on the lab section are usually one of two types... they either have excellent study habits outside of class, or they have a buddy that they're taking the class with and really get the most out of lab.

When I suggest ways for students to get the most out of lab, I suggest spending time on the samples. ESPECIALLY at the end of the semester, if there's an "open lab" period (sometimes on a saturday) take advantage of it!!!

Study buddies are really great for this, because the TA can't spend time walking everyone through everything. Pick up the different mushrooms... and tell your friend everything you can remember about it... then the friend asks questions (especially any questions they remember from quizzes), then the friend finishes by adding everything that they can remember about it.

Gymnosperms, angiosperms, arthropoda... etc etc etc... freshman biology is difficult, not because the material is so tough, but for the most part it's a brand new language, and there's a lot of basic things that you just DON'T KNOW.

All of the TA's at my university write their own quizzes each week, but for the midterm and final we all make question suggestions and make up a test bank... then we all pull our questions from the entire bank. I'm CONSTANTLY telling my students to know MY quizzes backwards and forwards, and to ALSO get as many other TA's quizzes as possible and study those too. Actually, I suggest that right at the beginning of the semester, so they can get study groups going that cover more than one TA's lab.

As far as flashcards... some like them, some don't. I love them. I've made some awesome histo and micro flashcards with the aid of a color printer. I can be stuck in traffic or hanging out for an hour between classes, and I can flip through them once or twice. A single hole punch and a clippy-ring thingy is vital though... otherwise they end up all over the place, and smooshed in the bottom of my backpack.

Good luck!

 

[PreMeddieRick]

Hey I'm right there right now...I am also memorizing Protista and Fungi, and all the BS that I know I won't use again. Well maybe a little but generally no I am not going to use the information I get about the prostia pigments again. Okay, the thing that helps me a whole bunch...now I know this is werid, but I go to the library or if I have to room alone with a white board and I teach the room about the subjects. I write and write and talk and talk and talk. I give the room a lesson, then a quick over lesson to ensure that my points were made. It may seem weird, but they say if you can teach someone else the stuff, then that means you know it. I personally do not know anyone who would like to listen to me preach about meiosis in the Basidomycota so that is how I get things done. The same goes for Ochem. I have to admit I am only a freshman, but it seems to be working. Good luck, and have a wonderful day.
PreMeddieRick

 

[UCLAstudent]

Originally posted by PreMeddieRick
Okay, the thing that helps me a whole bunch...now I know this is werid, but I go to the library or if I have to room alone with a white board and I teach the room about the subjects. I write and write and talk and talk and talk. I give the room a lesson, then a quick over lesson to ensure that my points were made.

LOL... very clever!

 

[the Undergrad]

Originally posted by PreMeddieRick
Hey I'm right there right now...I am also memorizing Protista and Fungi, and all the BS that I know I won't use again. Well maybe a little but generally no I am not going to use the information I get about the prostia pigments again. Okay, the thing that helps me a whole bunch...now I know this is werid, but I go to the library or if I have to room alone with a white board and I teach the room about the subjects. I write and write and talk and talk and talk. I give the room a lesson, then a quick over lesson to ensure that my points were made. It may seem weird, but they say if you can teach someone else the stuff, then that means you know it. I personally do not know anyone who would like to listen to me preach about meiosis in the Basidomycota so that is how I get things done. The same goes for Ochem. I have to admit I am only a freshman, but it seems to be working. Good luck, and have a wonderful day.
PreMeddieRick

Great Idea!

So is that all you do? I mean you dont try other stuff like the infamous flashcards or mnemonics?

Good luck to you too!

 

[PreMeddieRick]

Of course I use the typical note cards, but I don't know about anyone else...you seen one and you've seen them all. They become mesmerizing and my mind just goes blank and I get bored and quit. It also keeps others entertained...
seriously, if you walked by a library window and saw some guy teaching a room full of air and some chairs what would you think to yourself?
"Glad I chose not to opt for the pre-med track" or (picturing a family walking by) "You see kids...this is why you do not want to memorize facts about things you cannot see with the naked eye...it makes you sick in the head"
-This is my first year learning about how to study like I said. I have found one thing to have be absolutly true...You have to make it fun or it just plane sucks. Make up funny names, Mxymycota(slime molds) for instance when I see this makes me think of someone slipping on the slime and yelling "Mxymy!!! grrr!" on their way down. Thats all I got...
Cheers!!!,
PreMeddieRick