| 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 nonsense-words (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
- Quigley, M. N. J. Chem. Educ. 1992, 69, 138–140.
- Covey, W. J. Chem. Educ. 1988, 65, 1089.
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