How to Memorize Periodic Table
Do you want or need to know how to memorize the Periodic Table? There are 180 elements in the Periodic Table and in only a matter of hours I will teach you how to memorize all of these elements.
Create pictures for each element. Your mind remembers a picture more than it remembers a word. For example, most of us always say “I am so good with faces, I just can’t think of your name.” The reason for this is because we saw the face, the face was a picture, but we only heard the name. If you only hear the element’s names the odds of you remembering them significantly decrease. So to successfully memorize the periodic table you need create pictures. Here are some of my pictures for a few of the elements:
Hydrogen -someone is waving ‘HI’
Helium – a balloon floating up in the air.
Lithium – a battery.
Beryllium – a bear, a big grizzly bear.
Boron – a BOARD and placing it ON something.
Carbon – driving a car.
Nitrogen – A knight swinging his sword.
Oxygen – Breathing from an oxygen mask.
Fluorine – Flooring, maybe carpet or tile
So for the first step select a picture that will help you remember that element. Pick something that relates to the element or that may sound like or similar to the element.
Create a place to store the information. Let’s use my favorite, the Mind Palace Technique. Maybe you’ve heard of this technique from the Sherlock Holmes’ books. The idea is to memorize a map of a familiar place, like your house. In reality you already have your house memorized, so all I’m asking is for you to number pieces of your furniture. Go to every doorway of your house and number 5 pieces in each room. Start with number 1 and work your way up until you have enough pieces of furniture needed for what you are wanting to remember. Number things such as beds, desks, TVs, refrigerators, stoves, microwaves, books, and lamps. Make sure they are big items not small items and spread them throughout the room. When you do this your are constructing your very own Mind Palace.
The last step to memorize the periodic table is to put step one and step two together. Take the pictures you’ve chosen for the elements and start tying them to your pieces of furniture. For example, on your first piece of furniture imagine someone is waving and saying hi to you. While you wave back you notice a balloon floating up with a battery attached to it. This creates a story that helps you remember the first three elements; Hydrogen, Helium, and Lithium. On the second piece of furniture imagine a bear setting a board on top of a car; Beryllium, Boron, and Carbon. Let’s do one more. On the third piece of furniture in your Mind Palace imagine a knight wearing an oxygen mask while walking around on flooring; Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Fluorine.
If you store 3 elements per each piece of furniture, you will only need about 40 pieces of furniture for all 118 elements. Maybe you want to also remember the symbol and atomic weight along with the element. For this, I would suggest using 118 pieces of furniture because you will need a picture to remember the symbol and atomic weight along with the element on that one piece of furniture. I just showed you how to memorize the table in order, but what if you want to group them such as Halogens, Noble Gases, or the Alkali Metals? Simply group those elements in a room or a series of rooms so that when you are recalling these elements all you have to do is go to that room or series of rooms for the group you are wanting.
For more ways on how to memorize the periodic table click on the link below: