I am studying for my step 1 board exams. Not a happy camper, relearning the TCA cycle here.
Anyway, I am not a memorizer. I can stare at a chart for hours and not retain it, but if I come up with some sort of crazy story, I will remember it.
For example, the formula for glycolysis is
Glucose + 2ADP + 2Pi + 2NAD+ —————> 2 pyruvate + 2ATP + 2NADH + H+ + 2 H20
So, how I am remembering this is that glycolysis is like the stereotypical view of getting married. (Hey, I am trying to remember stuff, not create a feminist worldview here).
So, like is all sugar, pie, ‘nads and low energy from partying so much, and then he/she gets married, and then it’s stored energy, drinking water instead of partying, and practical building blocks stuff (pyruvate and NADH) and blowing off air.
That’s pretty straightforward for one of my memory tricks. Hopefully I’ll remember it.
You crack me up.
When I had to learn it last semester, I just made flash cards for each reaction. That seemed to work quite well, but it’s not so good for integrating glycolysis and TCA into all the other pathways. The only way to do that is by taping a few pieces of paper together and going to town.
It might not work for you as well as me, but I strongly recommend flash cards + writing it down repeatedly.
Good luck!
I am doing a certain amount of recopying from memory. The problem with boards is that I have to learn so much stuff over such a wide range, only a certain amount can be rote memorization. At least for me and my learning style. I am saving most of that for micro and pharm. Ugh.