The Periodic Table is definitely a hard-to-forget memory from high school chemistry class. Trying to learn the elements in order involved some rote learning with the occasional trick or two. However, it's to memorize the first 20 elements in order, backward and forward, as well as knowing which element belongs to which number. Impress your friends and train your brain with this fun exercise. You may even impress Sheldon Cooper!
Follow along:
Here are the links to every number to which you will associate with the periodic elements.
They are:
1. sun
2. shoe
3. tree
4. door
5. hive
6. stick
7. heaven
8. skate
9. wine
10. pen
From 10 to 20, it's a bit different but still easy.
11. Imagine football uprights
12. (A dozen) eggs
13. A witch
14. Valentine's Day item (Feb. 14 - a box of chocolates, for example)
15. Tax returns (April 15)
16. Sweet 16 - candies or other sweets
17. 'Seventeen' Magazine
18. Voting Booth (legal age to vote)
19. Golf Club (19th Hole)
20. Pack of Cigarettes (smoking not recommended!)
Now, we'll take a look at the Top 20 Periodic Elements.
They are:
1. Hydrogen
2. Helium
3. Lithium
4. Beryllium
5. Boron
6. Carbon
7. Nitrogen
8. Oxygen
9. Fluorine
10. Neon
11. Sodium
12. Magnesium
13. Aluminum
14. Silicon
15. Phosphorus
16. Sulfur
17. Chlorine
18. Argon
19. Potassium
20. Calcium
Now, let's link the element with the memory aid for each number.
1. Hydrogen/sun - The sun is mostly composed of hydrogen!
2. Helium/shoe - Imagine floating on shoes made of helium
4. Beryllium/door - Imagine opening the fridge to get some berries
6. Carbon/stick - Imagine a carbon hockey stick
7. Nitrogen/heaven - Imagine liquid nitrogen ice cream heaven!
9. Fluorine/wine - Imagine wine with added fluoride!
12. Magnesium/dozen eggs - Imagine getting your daily magnesium requirement with eggs
13. Aluminum/witch - Imagine a witch on an aluminum pop can!
14. Silicon/Valentine's - Imagine Silicon Valley king Mark Zuckerberg as someone's Valentine!
15. Phosphorus/tax return - Imagine igniting your tax return with phosphorus (not recommended in real life!)
16. Sulfur/ Sweet 16 (candies) - Imagine chocolate candies stinking like sulfur
17. Chlorine/'Seventeen magazine - Imagine reading Seventeen magazine by the pool and smelling the chlorine
18. Argon/voting booth - Imagine looking at the choices in a voting booth and saying "Aaaaaargh!!"
19. Potassium/golf - Imagine playing golf with a banana (they're rich in potassium!)
20. Calcium/pack of cigarettes - Imagine a cow smoking a cigarette
After you create these images, you'll find it very easy to recite the list from the top or bottom and to instantly recall any number. Quick, what's number 10? Pen = Neon!
With the links, you can substitute other words for the numbers, such as one-gun or eight-gate but any word will do. Have fun with the exercise and use it for any top 10 list that you can find useful!
