A Mnemonic For Representative Element Groups

Chemical Education Today

Letters A Mnemonic for Representative Element Groups Mnemonics’ virtues are legion and well-documented (1). Covey previously submitted a mnemonic for the symbols of the first 105 chemical elements (2). One drawback of the scheme, though, is its nearly uniform employment of nonsensewords (e.g., Motcru rh’p’d agcd in Sn’sb’). It is unclear whether memorizing such a text is a task any simpler than the one it aims to ease. Moreover, Covey’s mnemonic text unfolds in the order of increasing atomic number; we wondered whether a group-by-group ordering might also have merit. Here is our effort to ease memorization of the elements of several major groups and their respective chemical symbols: Group 1: Has LIttle NAncy Kissed RoB, CaSey, and FRank? Group 2: BEtty McGee CAn SuRe BAnter RApidly! Group 13: Ben ALways GAve INez TooLs. Group 14: Call SIlly GEne’s SNack PuB! Group 15: Nate Pulverized AShley’s SiBling’s BIke. Group 16: Olive Savored SEeing TEd POut. Group 17: Fred CLeaned BRushes In ATlanta. Group 18: HEnry NEeded ARticles, so KRis XEroxed RoN’s. Acknowledgment For Harold T. McKone, on the occasion of his retirement. Literature Cited 1. Quigley, M. N. J. Chem. Educ. 1992, 69, 138–140. 2. Covey, W. J. Chem. Educ. 1988, 65, 1089. Timothy Chambers Department of Philosophy, University of Hartford West Hartford, CT 06117 [email protected] Jennifer Arab Saint Joseph College West Hartford, CT 06117

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Vol. 83 No. 12 December 2006

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Journal of Chemical Education

1761