MCAT MNEMONICS & Other Memorization Strategies

Curated by Kayoung Heo

○ Beta vs. alpha carbohydrates

alpha = trans/down, beta = cis/up
bow down to alpha, beta beat me up

○ Sympathetic vs. parasympathetic

Sympathetic = fight or flight, parasympathetic = rest & digest
Writing a paragraph requires you to sit and rest.

○ Electronegativity trend
FONCLBRISCH
F > O > N > Cl > Br > I > S > C > H

○ Diatomic elements
BrINClHOF

○ Water soluble compounds

NAG SHAm
Nitrates (NO3-)
Acetate (CH3CO2-)
Group 1 metal cations (Li, Na, K, Cs, Rb)
Sulfates (SO42-) except with PMS Castro Bar
Halogens except with PMS
Ammonium (NH4+)
PMS = Pb (Lead), Mercury (Hg), Silver (Ag)
Castro Bar = Ca (Calcium), Str (Strontium), Ba (Barium)

○ Acid classifications
Increasing nuance/complexity when in alphabetical order.
Arrenhius = acid forms H*3*O+ & base forms OH- in water (most elementary definition).
Brownsted-Lowry = acids donate protons (H+) and bases accept them.
Lewis = acids accept electron pairs and bases donate them.

○ La Chatelier's principle and equilibrium

When K & Q are in alphabetical order the arrow points to the direction the reaction will
go to re-establish equilibrium.
K > Q then reaction will go right, increasing product concentration.
K < Q then reaction will go left, increasing reactant concentration.
○ Anterior pituitary hormones
FLAT PEG
Follicle-stimulating (FSH)
Luteinizing (LH)
Adrenocorticotropic (ACTH)
Thyroid stimulating (TSH)
Prolactin
Endorphins
Growth hormone (GH)

○ Lysogenic vs. lytic virus life cycle

Viral DNA incorporated into host genome and just replicated not transcribed (dormant)
Lysogenic is a longer word so it takes longer (dormant)

○ Retrovirus
retrovirus has RNA reverse transcriptase
Two r's in retrovirus: RNA reverse (transcriptase)

○ Nerve fibers & location in spinal cord

SAME DAVE
Sensory afferent, motor efferent, dorsal (towards back) afferent, ventral (towards
front) efferent

○ Calcium hormones
Calcitonin: calcium into bones
Parathyroid: rids bone of calcium

○ Pyramidines
cytosine, thymine (RNA equivalent uracil)
Have y's in them

○ Pyramidines
Pyrimidines have a big name so they have 1 donut (1 ring). Purines have a small name
so they can have 2 donuts (2 rings)

○ Deviations from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

Maggie May Does Not Smoke
Mutations, migration, drift, non-random mating, selection

○ Cell cycle
Go Sally Go Make Children!
Growth phase 1, S phase (DNA synthesis/replication), Growth phase 2, Mitosis,
Cytokinesis
○ Cell division
PMAT
Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase

○ Chordate traits
Do Not Pinch People
Dorsal nerve cord, notochord, pharyngeal slits, postanal tail

○ Embryogenesis
Must Be Good
Morula, Blastula, Gastrula

○ Fat soluble vitamins

DEKA
Vitamins D, E, K, A

○ Hormones that increase blood glucose

STENGGI ferengi like sweet blood
Somatotropin (growth hormone), thyroid hormones (T3 & T4), epinephrine,
norepinephrine, glucagon, glucocorticosteroids, immunoglobulins

○ Path of sperm
SEVEn UP
Seminiferous tubules, epididymis, vas deferens, ejaculatory duct, urethra, penis

○ mRNA post-processing
Exons Expressed, Introns in the trash

○ Taxonomy
King Philip Came Over For Gold & Silver
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species

○ White blood cells

Nobody Likes Me Eating Baguettes
Neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils

○ Valence electrons
HONC 1234
H likes to gain 1 e- to be stable, O 2, N 3, C 4

○ Ecell site of redox

 REDCAT ANOX
Reduction at cathode, oxidation at anode

○ Basic amino acids

HAL
histidine, arginine, lysine

○ Cardiac cycle
I Contracted a Cyst
systole = contraction, diastole = relaxation

○ Diverging lens image

DUV
diminished, upright, virtual

○ Acidic cations
A Fact No Zebra Could Be Creepy
Al, Fe, NH4, Zn, Cu, Be, Cr

○ Spring and Pendulum

WaKuM & WigGLe
w = √(k/m)
w = √(g/L)
(w: angular velocity)

○ Heart cuspids
LAB RAT
Left Atrioventricular = Bicuspid
Right Atrioventricular = Tricuspid

○ HNMR Functional group ranges

HACA
3-5 ppm: halogens
7 ppm: aromatic
9-12 ppm: carboxylic & aldehyde

○ Image produced by a lens

UV (upright/virtual)
IR (inverted/real)

○ Nonpolar, hydrophobic amino acids

GAPWVILMF (Give All People With Violin Intimate Love My Friend)
○ Polar, hydrophilic amino acids
YNTQSC (You Need To Quit Sipping Coke)

○ Basic amino acids (+)

Kings Respect Honesty
KRH

○ Acidic amino acids (-)

Dave Eats
DE

○ Citric Acid Cycle

Please, Can I Keep Selling Soup For Money Officer?
Pyruvate to Citrate to Isocitrate to alpha-Ketoglutarate to Succinyl-CoA to Succinate to
Fumerate to Malate to OAA

○ Southern/Northern/Western Blot
SNoW DRoP
Southern blot = DNA
Northern blot = RNA
Western = protein

○ White blood cells (Leukocytes)

Never Let Monkeys Eat Bananas
Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, Monocytes, Eosinophils, Basophils

○ Stop Codons
U Go Away, U Are Away, U Are Gone (UGA, UAA, UAG)

○ Layers of Epidermis
Come, Let’s Get Sun Burned
(stratum corneum, lucidum, granulosum, spinousum, basale)

○ Small intestine
Don’t Jiggle It
Duodenum, Jejunum, Ileum

○ Freud Stages
Ogres Always Play with Little Gorillas

○ Limbic system
LEM: limbic system, emotion and memory
 Hippo with a HAT: Hippocampus, hypothalamus, amygdala, thalamus

○ Inhibitory neurotransmitters
GAY (GABA and Glycine)

○ State Functions
When I’m feeling dense and under pressure, I want to watch TV and get HUGS

○ Centromere
Centro-mirror (splits chromosome in two mirror images)

○ Cognitive dissonance - 4 things we do to reduce discomfort

My Teeth Are Dirty
Modify, Trivialize, Add, Deny

○ Pancreatic Hormones
BAD PIGS
Beta Alpha Delta cells of the
Pancreas release Insulin, Glucagon, and Somatostatin