How to Memorize Science Terms: Biology, Chemistry and Anatomy

Split long terms into word parts

Many science terms are built from Greek or Latin pieces. Knowing the pieces lets you make an educated guess about a new term and gives you a meaning to attach to the sound. Here is a small starter set.

Put the parts on cards, and add cards that ask you to take a term apart: "What does hydrolysis mean, part by part?" Attaching meaning to a term, instead of only its sound, fits the levels of processing framework, which describes memory in terms of how deeply information is processed (Craik and Lockhart, 1972). It is a framework, not a test of word parts, and some terms no longer mean exactly what their parts say, so always check the definition. The vocabulary guide has more on card design.

Redraw diagrams with the labels removed

Take a diagram from your textbook, such as a plant cell or the parts of the heart. Cover the labels or trace the outline on a blank page, then write every label from memory. Check against the book and redo only the labels you missed, the next day. This is retrieval practice with a picture: you pull the answer out instead of looking at it.

In a study with science texts, practicing retrieval produced greater gains in meaningful learning than studying the text with concept mapping, including on questions that required inferences (Karpicke and Blunt, 2011). That was reading material, not diagrams. In other experiments, pictures were remembered better than words on recognition and free recall tasks (Standing, 1973), but the abstract we read does not mention labeled diagrams, and it also reports faster retrieval for verbal material. So the diagram routine rests on these general findings and was not itself tested.

Write cards that ask what a part does

A card that only asks for a name tests the label. A card that asks about the job tests whether you understand it. Make a pair for each term, one in each direction. The finding above, that retrieval practice helped on inference questions too, is a reason to ask for more than names, though it came from a reading study.

Formulas often arrive with the terms in chemistry and physics, so the situation-first cards in memorizing math formulas apply here too. To see how a five-box schedule handles cards like these, try Practice. For card rules, see how to write flashcards that work.

Use mnemonics lightly for ordered lists

Some lists must come out in order, such as the eight main ranks of biological classification: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. A mnemonic is a memory aid, and an acrostic is a sentence whose words start with the letters of your list. A made-up one for these ranks is: Dogs Keep Pigs Calm On Foggy Green Slopes.

The sentence gives you the order of the first letters. It does not tell you what a phylum is, so pair it with function cards. No verified study in our list tested acrostics on science lists. A major review judged the keyword mnemonic to be limited: it appeared to help for a limited number of materials and short retention intervals (Dunlosky et al., 2013). That is a reason for restraint, though it concerned another mnemonic. Read more in what mnemonics are and acronyms and acrostics. For long ordered lists of steps, see numbers and sequences.

Common mistakes

• Learning terms by name only. Add a card that asks what the part does, so you know the meaning and not just the label.
• Rereading labeled diagrams. Cover the labels or redraw the outline, then write every label from memory and check.
• Trusting a word part without checking. Use parts to guess, then confirm with the textbook definition. Some terms have drifted from their roots.
• Building a mnemonic for every list. Keep mnemonics for the few lists where order matters, and learn what each item means separately.

Frequently asked questions

Do word parts work for every science term?

No. Many terms follow their parts, and some do not. Treat parts as a way to guess and to attach meaning, then check the definition in your course material. No study we cite tested word parts, so this is practical advice.

How do I memorize the parts of a diagram?

Cover the labels or redraw the outline from memory, write each label, check, and repeat the missed ones on a later day. Pictures were remembered better than words in one set of experiments we cite, but the abstract we read does not mention labeled diagrams.

Are mnemonics a good idea for anatomy lists?

They can hold an order, such as a sequence of parts. They do not carry the meaning of each part. None of the studies we read tested mnemonics for anatomy, so use them lightly and pair them with cards about function.

What if a diagram has too many labels to learn at once?

Split the diagram into regions and learn one region per session, starting with the labels your course stresses. Once each region holds, redraw the whole diagram and see which labels fail. Results vary between people, and no study we cite tested diagrams.

Sources

We opened each source below before citing it. See Methodology and Sources for how we check them.

1. Craik, F. I. M., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11(6), 671-684. Open the source
2. Karpicke, J. D., & Blunt, J. R. (2011). Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping. Science, 331(6018), 772-775. Open the source
3. Standing, L. (1973). Learning 10000 pictures. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 25(2), 207-222. Open the source
4. Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58. Open the source