I am studying for a Biology Exam....best way to memorize?

Question

Hi, I am taking a Biology course I am in college and find this course to be challenging. I am having trouble memorizing the terms my exam is over Plant structure (roots, stems, lateral & Apical meristems), Fungi, celomate invertabrets, and an overview of animal diversity (protostomes & dutorostomes, segmented and unsegmented bodies ect.). Do you have any helpful tips on ways to memorize these tirms? For the last test I copied all my notes but it didnt help much. Thanks! (sorry for anything misspelled)

Answer 1

read about it every day, think about it, talk about it, draw pictures about it, and before you go to sleep, read a little about a narrow subject.

Review your notes in the 10 minutes before class starts.

Cramming makes for memory that easily evaporates, repeated reviews go into longterm memory.

The human mind can only study profitably for about 45 minutes at a time, then you need to take a break to let what you study seep into your memory. Then write in your own words a summary of what you had just studied. Then continue to study for the same subject about 30 more minutes.

Answer 2

First of all, get off your computer! Studying with a group of classmates always works best for me. But keep it a small group about 3-4 people - too few and you're easily sidetracked, too many and it gets too crazy. You go through the material together, chapter by chapter, and quiz each other. Aka: Explain the concept of (blank), List the steps of (blank), or give 3 examples of (blank). Teaching each other, sharing tips and tricks, will work much better than anything you read.

Only biology tip that pops into my head is regarding protostomes vs. deuterostomes. Just remember what humans are - typically, they're asses, first and foremost. So our first opening to form is our ***, not our mouth. Thus we're deuterostomes - "2nd mouth" Same as all vertebrates and echinoderms (starfish, and such). Then remember the whole stem-cell debate? That's possible because of our early cells are indeterminate - they can turn into anything. Related to this, the early cells divide evenly - radially (think like a pie being split up) unlike protostome (mouth first) cells with are assigned a determined fate early on, and divide spirally (think of a smaller and smaller spiral - a narrower and narrower fate).

Answer 3

College level biology exams tend to be quite difficult, from experience, and are usually all multiple choice.

I suggest highly practising multiple choice questions and things that will be asked on the exam for study. The best study is to be familiar with what the test is going to be like. Simply reading the book won't do you much good most of the time in a subject like biology. You might suggest to your friends that you make up questions and then you can quiz and practice together.

It might also help if you can find out what kind of things the professor likes to ask on the exam, his style of questions asked, and the difficulty.

Simply doing these things can make the difference between a 60 and an 80+ surprisingly. I got a 63 on my first university level biology exam and an 88 on my second when I did things differently.

Answer 4

Say the term and it's meaning several times, out loud - then go on to other terms and do the same, or other revision - after a short while go back to the first term and try to do it from memory - then check that you were right and whether you were or not, say it out loud some more! Do this as many times as necessary...of course you need to combine it with other forms of learning (maybe writing flashcards in bright felt-tip colours for example, with a term on one side and definition on the other, or a question about the organism or term vs the answer to the question on other side...) But I found the 'out-loud' thing really helped for my last set of exams.

Answer 5

First of all break it down into little chunks. Work on in for thirty minutes at a time, take a ten minute break and then come back to it. I always memorized just one thing to start with. Then I add another. Then I repeat the first thing, the second, and add a third. It also helps me to take the first letter of each word and make up a really stupid saying with words that start with the same letters. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 6

Study each section a little bit at a time for about half-hour to an hour each day, a week or two before the test. Studying one chapter, section each day is a sure fire way to remembering some info really well, and other info not at all. Also, never underestimate the power of flashcards!

Answer 7

I suggest that you memorize things like you would memorize your lines for a play. Read tham over and over and then tou and a college friend can have a play wich is sort of like a quiz. Good luck on your exam.

Answer 8

I am a biology major. I find that biology is learned easier when it is taught. I usually either try and explain it to my roommate or my seven year old brother. When I feel that I can fluently explain it I know that I have it down pat. Hope this helps, everyone learns differently!

Answer 9

Read, re-read and summarize in tables the definitions that you need. It is more important, however, to learn how the thing works and how things go together.

good luck

Answer 10

make flash cards and always carry them
along,and revise whenever
u get time, try it it really works