Biology is nearly half the MDCAT, and a large slice of it is pure recall: facts that are easy to learn and just as easy to lose the moment the exam clock starts. Mnemonics turn that recall automatic. Here are the ones worth carrying into the hall, grouped by topic.
Classification (taxonomy order)
Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, from broadest to narrowest:
- "Dear King Philip Came Over For Good Soup."
Biomolecules and the cell
- Water's properties (cohesion, adhesion, high specific heat) all trace back to one thing: polarity. Remember the cause, not the list.
- Enzyme rate factors, as T-P-C-S: Temperature, pH, Concentration, Substrate specificity.
Cellular respiration
- Running order: Glycolysis, Link reaction, Krebs, ETC.
- Net ATP from one glucose: the textbook figure is 38. In reality it lands around 30 to 32 because of transport costs. Know both, and know why they differ.
- Final electron acceptor is oxygen. This one is asked almost every year, so do not let it slip.
The heart and circulation
- "LARP" for the valve layout: Left side goes with the Aortic valve (and bicuspid), Right side with the Pulmonary valve. And tricuspid sits on the right; the two "r"s help it stick.
- Blood flow: right atrium, right ventricle, lungs, left atrium, left ventricle, body. Say it out loud a few times and it locks in.
Hormones
- Anterior pituitary hormones as "FLAT PeG": FSH, LH, ACTH, TSH, Prolactin, GH. The lowercase letters are just filler.
- Insulin lowers blood glucose, glucagon raises it. "glucaGON, glucose GONE up" if you keep swapping them.
Genetics
- Meiosis reduces, mitosis maintains. Meiosis leaves one set, and both words start with the same sound.
- Ratios you should never have to think about: 3:1 monohybrid, 9:3:3:1 dihybrid. They turn up nearly every year.
Making mnemonics actually stick
A mnemonic you read once is gone by tomorrow morning. The thing that works is retrieval practice. Do not re-read the list. Cover it, recall it, check it, then test yourself again the next day and a few days after that. That spacing is what pushes a fact into long-term memory, and it is why last-night ratta rarely survives contact with the paper.
MCQs are the fastest way to run that loop, because every question forces a recall and every explanation you read patches the exact gap you just found. Drill these topics on the MDCAT Biology practice pages, and slot Biology into a proper routine with the 6-week study plan.
Learn the mnemonic, then earn it back through practice. That is the version that holds on exam day.