Memorizing formulas

[The patriot]

Is there an easy way to memorize formulas?

I'm taking a test to upgrade my license, and I need to remember about 60 different formulas. Cant take notes or a calculator with me.

I need HELP!!!

Eric

 

[NVR FNSH]

The best way to memorize a formula? Know/understand how to derive the formula - you'll never have to worry about remembering it again. Sounds painful because it is.....



Brian

 

[The patriot]

I was afraid that would be the answer.

My little brother went to college to become a mechanical engineer, and in the 4 years he was there, he told me that he NEVER had to remember a formula.

God, I sure hope I pass, math wasnt my strong point.

Eric

 

[R.ebel]

Memorization

This may sound childish, flashcards work for me.



Repetition is the mother of success

 

[me4osu]

I always used them alot to memorize them. Make up your own problems to use the formulas on. Worked for me.



BTW, ask your little brother how he made it through thermodynamics, heat transfer and physics without formula memorization. We had to memorize the entire thermodynamic continuity equation in thermo class. I would have to look it up in a book now, too many beers since my school days.



One good quote from a mechanical dynamics prof. "The only equation you need to know is F=ma, everything else can be derived from that. " I never liked that guy.

 

[Don M]

Try to use acronyms to help with some things



BRASS= Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, and Squeeze



One I use for resistor colors:



Bad Boys Rape Our Young Girls But Violet Gives Willingly:

B=black

B=brown

R= red

O=orange

Y= yellow

G=green

B=blue

V= purple or violet

G= gray or slate

W= white



Don~

 

[The patriot]

Originally posted by me4osu

I would have to look it up in a book now, too many beers since my school days.

Guess that's what colleges now are thinking. Hell, I have to write myself a note to remember to buy a loaf of bread and eggs on the way home from work.

You must have graduated a while ago. He graduated a year or two back.

It was a repuitable college in Colorado too.



I dont know why I should even have to know this. I'm only an operator, not a design engineer.

Overkill to say the least.

Eric

 

[NVR FNSH]

what formulas are you using? Just curious



Brian

 

[Ben Rumson]

Ditto to what Don M said !



Wurked fer me.

 

[duaneparks]

Originally posted by Don M

Try to use acronyms to help with some things



BRASS= Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, and Squeeze



One I use for resistor colors:



Bad Boys Rape Our Young Girls But Violet Gives Willingly:

B=black

B=brown

R= red

O=orange

Y= yellow

G=green

B=blue

V= purple or violet

G= gray or slate

W= white



Don~

Good ones... When learning to fly I used acronyms and "sayings" to learn things too...



RGLR (Regular) = Right Green, Left Red for marker lights on the wings



ANDS = Accelerate North, Decelerate South, referring to magnetic compass errors while changing speed



Odd People Fly East = referring to air traffic and what flight level to expect them at. East bound air traffic usually fly at odd numbered flight levels



The list goes on... As far as FORMULA's, I too was always allowed to carry either a "formula book" or something similar to college exams. Sorry dude.



Duane

 

[The patriot]

Originally posted by NVR FNSH

what formulas are you using? Just curious



Brian

Well lets see, I dont know where to start.

How to find the frequency of a turbine generator,

Celcius to farenheit, and vise versa. (that one's easy)

Specific heat

Rated boiler HP, and developed boiler HP (another easy one)

Factor of evaporation(which will be used in the DBHP formula above)

Lots of stuff with fuel BTU's, and API.

Heating surface formulas (easy)

Max allowable working (MAWP) and bursting pressures

determining the dia of a piston in a pump

Determining the thickness of a drum

Determining the thickness of a tube

Heating surface

GPM formula

Total head formula (this aint a joke)

Formula used to determine the gallons of cooling water required to condense a given quantidy of steam in a steam surface condenser. ??

They'll give you a question that will require several formulas to answer.

I've just scratched the surface here.



Eric

 

[milehiscott]

The flashcard thing worked best for me. Take some time and write them out yourself. Don't get help with them. The time of writing them is more repetition for your brain and uses a different part of it as well.

Also, learn it both ways. Look at the formula and say what it is. Look at the problem and state the formula.

If you do the accronyms, silly is sometimes good. They tend to stick with you as long as they are not complicated.

Good luck,

Scott

 

[illflem]

Eric, sounds like you're taking a boiler operator's test. I did one last year, study book was full of formulas, test had none.

 

[Bill Lins]

Hope this helps

Remember: pi r round- cornbread r square.

 

[Don M]

Re: Hope this helps

Originally posted by Bill Lins

Remember: pi r round- cornbread r square.

thats funny



Don~

 

[The patriot]

Originally posted by illflem

Eric, sounds like you're taking a boiler operator's test. I did one last year, study book was full of formulas, test had none.

Yup, but this test WILL have these formulas.

I can handle all the questions pretaining to operation (I've had a license for 20 years now) and even the questions on laws, rules and regulations and ASME/codes stuff, but this math is a killer for me.

Eric

 

[PRout]

Sorry to say, it really comes down to how much time you spend going over & over them until theyre planted like multiplication tables.



But that time spent to remember them will pay off sooner or later, when you dont need to pull out the book to look em up when you need them in a bind.



"Sum of the squares"



A couple more:



For EIGRP:

Bob Dylan Really Likes Music

Bandwidth Delay Reliability Loading MTU



The IOS Layers:

All People Seem To Need Data Processing

Application, Presentation, Session, Transport, Network, Datalink, Physical



RoyGBiv

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet



PIE TURD

P=IE I=E/R Pi=2R*3. 14... Pi=d3. 14

 

[Diesel Freak]

Good Luck! I have two more years till I have to re-take my test for Grade I Steam Engineer for Seattle to remain current.



I have been out of the power generation end of things for a while.

 

[rrausch]

Remember too that the angle of the dangle X the heat of the meat = the mass of the a**.

 

[The patriot]

Update... . I passed!!!