13The Abstract World of Science
“Science is nothing but trained and organized common sense …”
— Thomas Huxley (1825–95)
RETENTION AND UNDERSTANDING
How much of what we are taught in class do we think we retain? How much do our teachers think we understand?
There is increasing evidence, sadly, that not only do we retain very little, but we understand even less. According to a widely respected report by researchers at King’s College, London, “the apparently acceptable level of examination performances hides disturbingly widespread areas of gross and damaging confusion”.
Video interviews carried out by the Science Media Group in the USA have revealed that the message imparted by teachers during lessons, especially in the sciences, is being misinterpreted, partly owing to our own preconceived ideas about the universe.
At Saugus High School, Massachusetts, students were asked the following question before being taught about electricity: can you light a bulb using only a battery and some wire? They not only gave the correct answer – yes – but some of them also made reasonable drawings of a circuit diagram. However, after the teacher’s presentation it was revealed that not only did the students’ understanding of the phenomenon lessen, but they also became confused.
Typically, one student, Jennifer, produced a perfect circuit diagram – the sort that would command full marks in an examination. However, after the lesson, Jennifer didn’t believe that battery and wire alone were sufficient to light a bulb. Why not? During the class, light bulbs had been displayed held upright in sockets. Her teacher Jim, with twenty-seven years of experience, assumed it was obvious that they were only there for convenience. But Jennifer developed a misconception during the lesson: she now thought that you can’t light a bulb without a socket.
This revelation was to come as quite a shock to Jim and many other teachers who agreed to take part in these experiments. He said, “I thought I had got this thing down to the point where any dolt could understand what I’m doing … the kids appear to be engaged, they sit there and nod sagely as if they’re getting all of this stuff … but it seems that they didn’t really understand, grasp and internalise the concept that you thought you had presented to them in a clear way.”
In our quest to understand science, we instinctively use common sense to produce personal interpretations of the world around us. The irony is that common sense can often mislead. Take the example of the man who is standing in a flat field with two bullets, one in a gun, the other in his hand. He shoots the one bullet straight ahead at exactly the same time as he drops the other.
•Question: Which bullet hits the ground first?
Answer: They both hit the ground at the same time. This may go against our intuitions, but in this case our intuitions are wrong – the forward momentum of the shot bullet doesn’t matter because the downward force acting on both bullets (gravity) is the same.
SO WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
How are we to control our wayward misconceptions and begin to grasp the rudiments of science?
•Approach
Well, of course, we’ll always continue to apply common sense, but at the same time we should be ready to accept that things won’t always turn out the way we expect them to. The world according to science is not always perceivable in the ordinary sense, so we must try to keep an open mind and build on our understanding of scientific principles – bearing in mind that as scientific study becomes more advanced, basic principles may be overturned.
•Debate
Rather than simply accepting answers, we should first discuss with others our individual theories on a certain problem. What happens when salt is added to water? Does it melt or does it simply disappear? By thinking, analysing and sharing ideas, we are automatically drawn inside a problem, with all the misconceptions laid out in the open for debate – and even ridicule – instead of being left to fester in unconvinced, suspicious minds.
The moment we realise that salt doesn’t melt in water is when science begins. In fact, salt dissolves in water – the bonds holding the crystals of salt together come apart and the salt ions disperse through the water.
•Question your teacher
If it doesn’t add up, say something. “Where’s the logic?” “Please explain, I don’t understand.” Others will be grateful and so will your tutors – they need the feedback. Remember what Jim said, “They sit there and nod sagely as if they’re getting all of this stuff.” Who’s kidding whom?
•Be selective
Inevitably, there is always more material in the curriculum than there is time available to learn it all, which means that there is often a rush to try to cover all the material. This can sometimes result in some topics being treated in less depth than others. The danger is that by trying to learn too much, our understanding is left behind. Whatever the pressure, try to specialise in certain fields. The mastering of just one or two key areas will boost your confidence and create a thirst for more knowledge in another field – the inevitable spin-off will be an improvement in your exam performance.
•Add perspective
Try to explore the wider world of science. The history, stories, anecdotes, chance discoveries and eccentricities of the great scientists do more than add a bit of colour; they also provide the background details and therefore the associations that are essential for anchoring our understanding of what often seems an abstract, incomprehensible soup of facts and figures.
HOW TO REMEMBER SCIENTIFIC TERMS
In science subjects like chemistry, physics and biology you will need to spend some of your revision time before an exam making sure that you can use all the terminology you have learned during your course correctly. The trouble is that most of the terminology you will have come across may not be intrinsically memorable. With a little mental inventiveness, however, you’ll soon be able to understand the language of chemistry, biology or physics. You’ll always find a connection somewhere if you look for it.
It is easy to create highly memorable images in your mind for just about any technical terms you might encounter. Take a little time (it doesn’t take long) to make yourself a list of memory aids for the key terms you will need in the exam. To get you in the mood, here are a few chemistry examples:
•Elements
Elements contain only one type of atom. They cannot be chemically broken down into simpler substances. Think of Sherlock Holmes’ famous exclamation, “Elementary, my dear Watson” – that is, nothing could be simpler.
•Compounds
These are substances which contain more than one type of atom, chemically joined. Compounds can be chemically split into simpler substances. Think of an animal compound containing several species.
•Acids
Acids are substances which:
1turn blue litmus paper red: imagine a police officer and the “boys in blue” turning red with anger
2have a sour taste: think of the taste of vinegar (ethanoic acid)
3react with metals to form salts: visualise members of a heavy metal rock band at an acid house party turning into pillars of salt
4neutralise bases: the bass guitar is neutralised.
•Alloys
Alloys are mixtures of metals formed by melting together two or more different metals and allowing the mixture to solidify. Brass, for example, is made up of copper and zinc. Think of allies joined together to form a solid front.
•Deliquescence
This is when a substance absorbs water from the air and dissolves in it to form a solution. To remind you, imagine walking into your local delicatessen and seeing a lemon sorbet that has been left out in the air too long and is turning into a runny liquid.
•Efflorescence
This is when a crystalline substance turns to fine powder on exposure to air, or when salts come to the surface of a substance and crystallise. Imagine an effluent containing dissolved detergent crystals drying out in the air, and the crystals turning into a powder.
•Alcohols
Alcohols are compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. You’ll always remember this if you think of alcohol as “causing hang-overs”. Ethanol, C2H5OH, is the alcohol found in drinks and produced by the fermentation of sugars from yeast.
•Ions
Ions are particles that carry an electrical charge, which might be positive or negative. Think of an electric iron.
•Anions
These are ions that have a negative charge. Imagine somebody called Ann ironing a piece of negative film.
•Cations
These are ions that carry a positive charge. Think of cations as pussy-tive.
•Exothermic reactions
These are reactions that produce energy in the form of heat. Think of energy or heat exiting.
•Endothermic reactions
Reactions in which energy, as heat, is absorbed. Think of heat entering.
•Allotrope
An allotrope is one of a number of forms that one element can take. Carbon, for example, has several markedly different allotropic forms, including graphite and diamond. Think of making different shapes or forms out of the same piece of rope – a lot of rope tricks. This is a good example of how to create very individual associations when faced with a term or phrase that has no obvious connection with its own meaning or definition.
•Ammonia
Ammonia is produced by mixing the two gases hydrogen and atmospheric nitrogen together in a ratio of 3:1 by volume. Using the DOMINIC System, imagine the three members of Charlie’s Angels (CA = 31) squeezing the two gases together into one. The gas is manufactured by the Haber process, and then converted into ammonium compounds for making fertilisers, nitric acid, explosives and cleaning products, as well as some plastics. To remember all this, imagine going down to the harbour and seeing all these things as a shipment being lifted off a cargo boat. Ammunition will remind you of explosives, fireworks and night tricks, bleach is used in household cleaning, and the smell of fertiliser, like that of ammonia itself, is pungent.
You can see how easy it is to invent ridiculous images that will remain memorable in an exam so that instead of breaking your flow of thought by agonising over a definition you’ll be able to recall the information easily and get on with your answer to the question. The same techniques can be applied to biological terms just as easily. Take the terms phenotype and genotype. It’s easy to fix in your mind that phenotype refers to the physical signs of genotype – our genetic composition. Physics, too, with all its complex equations, can be made visual and therefore memorable.
REMEMBERING PHYSICS EQUATIONS
Let’s use as an example the ideal gas equation PV=nRT. This vital equation describes the behaviour of an “ideal” gas (P = pressure, V = volume, n = number of moles, R = the universal molar gas constant and T = temperature). First fix this in your mind with a mnemonic: how about pregnant virgins never reveal the truth. You can rearrange this to:
Think of someone constantly pressing a volume of gas over hot coals.
Remember that physics equations are not arbitrary – they describe real things. So you can often (although not always) use common sense to check them. Imagine a football full of air. When you squash it the pressure goes up as the volume goes down. Or think of heating up a gas in a rigid vessel (so V is fixed). The pressure increases until the vessel breaks.
Once you have committed to memory the equation
then you already know two other expressions of the ideal gas law:
•Boyle’s Law: PV is constant at constant T
Think of water boiling at a constant temperature.
•Charles’s Law: 
is constant for fixed P
Think of Prince Charles under constant media pressure.
These memory exercises can be taken even further. Returning to the world of chemistry, if you wanted to, it would be perfectly possible to use the link method and the DOMINIC System to learn the entire periodic table of elements off by heart – not that you’ll need to for a chemistry exam, but if you really wanted to show off …
HOW TO MEMORISE THE PERIODIC TABLE
Some years ago I received a call from a television researcher asking if I would take part in a live “phone in” on daytime TV for students worried about taking their exams. Apart from offering tips, I was asked if I wouldn’t mind, for demonstration purposes, quickly learning the periodic table on my way up to the studios.
When I’m asked to learn something like this in a hurry, I can only think that people must assume I have a photographic memory – a quick scan down the page and it’s all lodged neatly in the brain. Unfortunately, I don’t possess that ability and if I did I would probably be barred from entering any future memory competitions on the grounds of having an unfair advantage.
My brain is basically the same as anyone else’s. The only reason why my memory works better than most is that I have learnt to feed information into my brain in such a way that I can guarantee retrieving it at a later date. What a pity I was never taught this learning technique when I was at school struggling with chemistry and all its elements.
Well, armed with a photocopy of the periodic table, I got on a plane at Heathrow and by the time I arrived at Liverpool, where the TV studio was located, I knew it back to front and inside out.
When I was eventually tested live on air, I was able to pinpoint precisely any of the 110 atomic numbers, symbols, groups and weights to four decimal places and it was assumed, wrongly of course, that I must have been referring to an exact mental photocopy of the table.
Although the techniques outlined in this book are basically simple to learn, trying to explain the mechanics of them in a few words is not an easy task, especially on television. If you start saying things like, “I imagine Horatio Nelson phoning Brian Epstein on top of an elephant” without adequate explanation, you run the risk of alienating your audience and being perceived as a complete nut.
Luckily, you know what I’m talking about, or at least you should do by now!
Elements and their symbols
It is important in the study of chemistry to know the symbols for the elements. Knowing the atomic number and which group each element belongs to is a sound basis for understanding the whole subject of chemistry. We usually learn which symbols refer to which elements by repetition and familiarisation over a period of time, in much the same way that we learn a language. In chapter eleven you discovered a short cut to learning a foreign vocabulary by finding a link between the foreign word and its English translation. The quickest way of learning chemical symbols is by using the same method.
For example, to remember that Sn is the symbol for tin, think of the cartoon hero Tin Tin with his faithful dog Snowy. To connect lead to its chemical symbol Pb, try to imagine a lead-weighted plumb-line (the Latin word for lead is plumbum).
The symbol for tungsten is W, which comes from the name of one of the metal’s ores: Wolfram. So picture a crazy mutant Wolf with ten tongues sticking out.
How would you link gold to its chemical symbol Au? What about: “I like the aural ring of the word gold.” Or: “The metal has a certain aura about it.”
Finally, Hg makes me think of the writer H.G. Wells; I think of wells of water contaminated with mercury.
The next time you have trouble remembering certain symbols, apply this method for an instant cure.
A memorable gathering
Looking at the way the first twenty elements of the periodic table are presented on page 177 is enough to put anyone off chemistry. Just imagine how daunting it would seem if you were asked to memorise all 110! Because the table is in list form, the information looks dull and uniform, and the groups or families to which each element belongs are camouflaged. It’s like gazing at a guest list of twenty people invited to a party. One or two names might stick out, but trying to remember everybody would be difficult. However, once you’ve been to the party, chatted to individuals and seen everybody clumped together in various groups or cliques, you have a much clearer picture of that original list and plenty to gossip about, too – who was with whom and in which rooms. You remember it all (assuming you were reasonably sober) because you reviewed your experiences by playing back your mental video tape and associating each person with their surroundings.
So if you want to remember the first twenty elements, imagine them all gathered at one weird party! And once you’ve tried this, why not go on to do the whole 110?
Family planning
In chapter eight you memorised the alphabetical order of the twelve original European Union member states by taking a journey consisting of twelve stages.
To memorise the first section of the periodic table you will need to plan a location made up of eight rooms or areas. This is because the first twenty elements are divided into eight main groups or families:
| Group no. | Group name |
| 0 | Noble gases |
| 1 | Alkali metals |
| 2 | Alkaline-earth metals |
| 3 | Boron group |
| 4 | Carbon group |
| 5 | Nitrogen group |
| 6 | Oxygen group |
| 7 | Halogens |
The numbers 0 to 7 that I have assigned to the eight groups above correspond with those used in a conventional periodic table (they relate to the configuration of electrons in the elements).
I have left the element hydrogen out of this exercise – it is easy to remember as it is the lightest element, with the atomic number 1.
Your school or college would make an ideal location for memorising the elements, as you can use the various classrooms, lecture theatres, labs, assembly rooms and recreation areas to house the groups. By designating and cordoning off specific areas for each group, you will avoid confusion between families. Your understanding and knowledge of the elements will be greatly enhanced because you will effectively bring them alive by creating an animated, three-dimensional representation of the periodic table. Give each room or area its own colour code as an extra mnemonic aid or memory back-up.
To remember the atomic number for each element, you are going to combine personalities from the DOMINIC System (I’ll use my characters as examples – you should use your own) with imaginary objects triggered by the names of the elements to form complex images – the chemistry between them should be fascinating and memorable!
Let’s begin with group 0, the noble gases:
helium
neon
argon
As we’re making a start, we might as well use the chemistry lab as a place to store these gases. To remind you that they belong to group 0, picture a big blue football at the door of the lab. Football is a number shape for 0 and blue will be the colour code for this group.
As you enter the room the first thing you see is the film actor Orlando Bloom sitting in a blue helium balloon. This image will remind you that the atomic number of helium is 2. Orlando Bloom (OB = 02) from the DOMINIC System is used as the person, and the helium balloon provides the prop involved in the action.
| 02 | Helium |
| Orlando Bloom | sitting in helium balloon |
| (person) | (action) |
It’s important to fuse your complex image to its surroundings. Have the balloon causing havoc by knocking equipment over all around the lab – test-tubes go flying as it bobs about. This will help to anchor your images and animating the scenes will make them much more memorable.
Next, you find Wild West star Annie Oakley (AO = 10) kneeling on the floor. She is lit up by a bright blue neon light which makes her cowgirl outfit glow blue. This complex image makes it easy to remember that neon’s atomic number is 10.
If you work your way clockwise round the room you will preserve the ascending order of atomic numbers. Refer to the periodic table at the end of this chapter to cross-check how the element names and numbers are being linked together as we continue.
Moving on, you see Adolf Hitler (AH = 18) doing a spot of argon welding, causing blue sparks to fly in all directions.
Here is a summary of those images:
| Noble gases |
| Location = chemistry lab |
| Group = 0 (shape: football) |
| Colour code = blue |
| Element | Person (atomic no.) | Element prop |
| Helium | Orlando Bloom (02) | helium balloon |
| Neon | Annie Oakley (10) | neon lights |
| Argon | Adolf Hitler (18) | argon welding |
Having formed your gaseous images, revise the data by taking a quick mental stroll around the lab. Don’t be put off by the seemingly long-winded nature of this method. What may take several sentences for me to describe can be visualised by you in a split second, and by recapping the scenes in the lab just once, you’ll find that they’re pretty firmly fixed in your brain already.
Remember, too, that you should substitute your own people to represent the atomic numbers and use whatever action suggests itself to you to make a link between the person representing the atomic number and a memorable prop for the element’s name.
Now that the noble gases are all firmly installed in the chemistry lab, think of a place for the alkali metals to gather. The college dining area perhaps?
| Alkali metals |
| Location = dining room |
| Group = 1 (shape: candle) |
| Colour code = yellow |
| Element | Person (atomic no.) | Element prop |
| Lithium | Oliver Cromwell (03) | ? |
| Sodium | Andre Agassi (11) | ? |
| Potassium | Alfred Nobel (19) | ? |
Now it’s your turn. Using the layout of your college dining hall, try to find a prop or association for each of the three alkali metal elements and an action to link it to each of the atomic number personalities from your own personal DOMINIC System list. This time, you see a tall yellow candle burning with a bright yellow flame at the entrance to the dining hall. A candle is the number shape for 1 and yellow is the new colour code, which will permeate throughout each scene taking place in the room.
When looking for associations with elements, try to exploit their uses or characteristics. For example, lithium is used to help treat people suffering from manic-depression, so you could visualise a manic Oliver Cromwell, in full Civil War uniform, haranguing all those present as he waves a bright yellow musket around. Sodium, one of the elements in salt (sodium chloride), could be represented by Andre Agassi dancing round the room wearing a yellow T-shirt, and sprinkling salt on the floor as he goes.
When you’ve finished your scenes to fix each alkali metal element in the dining room, move on to the next groups:
| Alkaline-earth metals | Location = locker rooms |
| Group = 2 (shape: swan) | |
| The boron group | Location = physics lab |
| Group = 3 (shape: handcuffs) | |
| The carbon group | Location = art room |
| Group = 4 (shape: sailboat) | |
| The nitrogen group | Location = biology lab |
| Group = 5 (shape: curtain hook) | |
| The oxygen group | Location = gymnasium |
| Group = 6 (shape: mallet) | |
| Halogens | Location = assembly hall |
| Group = 7 (shape: boomerang) |
Continue to work your way through the various areas of your college, creating bizarre scenes as you go. Notice, too, that there are links, however tenuous, between the type of rooms and the group headings. Carbon is found in the art room, and you need plenty of oxygen in the gymnasium.
Can you see how all the pieces are joining together like one big jigsaw? Of course, there is nothing to stop you from deepening your knowledge of each element still further. All you have to do is expand the scenes by adding further detailed images. For example, if you really felt the need, you could include atomic weights. A crazed Bill Oddie (BO = 20) goose-stepping (action of Adolf Hitler; AH = 18) around the kneeling Annie Oakley and wearing handcuffs (number shape for three) will ensure you’ll never forget that neon’s atomic weight is 20.183.
Once you have fixed all the elements firmly in your mind by arranging them ingeniously throughout your mnemonic network, you will have gained a much clearer perspective of the vital first section of the table, and will also better appreciate the relationships between them. This will, I have no doubt, greatly facilitate your understanding of chemistry when you come to study the intricacies of molecular structures and chemical reactions.
And once you’ve memorised the first twenty elements in the periodic table (listed right), if you really want to impress, get yourself a copy of the complete table – all 110 elements – and let your imagination go wild!
THE FIRST TWENTY ELEMENTS
| No. | Element | Symbol | Weight | Group |
| 1 | Hydrogen | H | 1.00797 | Hydrogen |
| 2 | Helium | He | 4.0026 | Noble gases |
| 3 | Lithium | Li | 6.939 | Alkali metals |
| 4 | Beryllium | Be | 9.0122 | Alkaline-earth metals |
| 5 | Boron | B | 10.811 | Boron group |
| 6 | Carbon | C | 12.01115 | Carbon group |
| 7 | Nitrogen | N | 14.0067 | Nitrogen group |
| 8 | Oxygen | O | 15.9994 | Oxygen group |
| 9 | Fluorine | F | 18.9984 | Halogens |
| 10 | Neon | Ne | 20.183 | Noble gases |
| 11 | Sodium | Na | 22.9898 | Alkali metals |
| 12 | Magnesium | Mg | 24.312 | Alkaline-earth metals |
| 13 | Aluminium | Al | 26.9815 | Boron group |
| 14 | Silicon | Si | 28.086 | Carbon group |
| 15 | Phosphorus | P | 30.9738 | Nitrogen group |
| 16 | Sulphur | S | 32.064 | Oxygen group |
| 17 | Chlorine | Cl | 35.453 | Halogens |
| 18 | Argon | Ar | 39.948 | Noble gases |
| 19 | Potassium | K | 39.102 | Alkali metals |
| 20 | Calcium | Ca | 40.08 | Alkaline-earth metals |