Mnemonic Weekly Tip   # 8         November 3, 2002
Multi-Vitamins and Food Supplements
The Problem
Multi-Vitamins and Food Supplements
Young children just learning terms that can be easily confused and adults who have learning problems often confuse terms like vertical and horizontal and radius and diameter. The reason that these words are confusing is that they represent abstract concepts and have an either/or relationship. The person often understands the concept but cannot remember which term refers to which concept.
The Mnemonic

By using weighted learning and visual clues, the person can distinguish between the terms vertical, and horizontal and between the terms radius and diameter.   Weighted learning means that one of a pair is learned well, so if it is not that one it is the other one. When learning these words the person should focus on the word horizontal and diameter and use the visual clues of the horizon and the upper case of the letter D. If something is horizontal, it matches the horizon. When identifying the diameter, it is the line that goes from one side of a circle, through the center to the other side.
                                                                                                                                         

 Horizon         Horizontal                 _______   

                                                ________________________  

                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                           Diameter
Multi-Vitamins and Food Supplements 

Richard Cooper