You’ve revised that Time-Speed-Distance formula at least five times this week. And yet, when it pops up in a mock, your mind goes blank.

Meanwhile, ask you to sing a song you last heard two years ago, and boom — every lyric is right there.

It feels unfair, right? How does your brain happily hoard old Bollywood songs but instantly delete CAT formulas?

The answer isn’t that you’re “bad at math.” It’s how memory actually works.

Songs Stick. Formulas Slip. Why?

Songs come with rhythm, melody, and emotion. You don’t just memorise them — you experience them. That’s why you still remember the jingle of an old ad. Your brain is wired to hold onto patterns that are repeated often and connected to feeling.

Formulas, on the other hand, are usually crammed in isolation. No rhythm, no melody, no emotional charge. You scribble them once in a notebook and hope they’ll stay. Spoiler: they won’t.

The Science of Forgetting

Psychologists call it the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve — our brains naturally forget information if it isn’t reinforced. After one day, you might forget 50% of what you studied. After a week, you might retain only 20%.

Unless you actively revisit, apply, or emotionally connect with the formula, your brain happily discards it. That’s why formulas feel slippery compared to lyrics you’ve hummed a hundred times.

How to Make Formulas Stick (Song-Style)

1. Active Recall, Not Passive Reading
2. Reading a formula 10 times doesn’t mean you’ll remember it. Test yourself instead. Cover the page, recall it from memory, then check. This “effort” is what tells your brain the formula matters.
3. Spaced Repetition
4. Revisit formulas at increasing intervals, Day 1, Day 3, Day 7, Day 15. Each revisit strengthens the memory trace, just like hearing a song again and again makes it unforgettable.
5. Attach Emotion or Story
6. Make formulas less sterile. Link them with silly mnemonics, visuals, or even a quick story. Example: associating “All Students Take Calculus” with trigonometric quadrants isn’t just a fact; it’s a quirky memory hook.
7. Use Them in Context
8. Just as songs stick when you actually sing them, formulas stick when you actually use them. Solve varied problems that force the formula to come alive. Application beats rote revision.
9. Create a Formula Logbook
10. Maintain one slim notebook where all important formulas live. Flip through it daily, even for 5 minutes. The constant exposure builds familiarity.

Why This Matters in CAT Prep

Because CAT isn’t a memory test, it’s an application test. You don’t need to carry an encyclopaedia of formulas in your head. But the few dozen critical ones? You need them at instant recall.

The students who struggle aren’t “weaker at math.” They’re weaker at memory management. They expect their brain to store formulas automatically. The toppers treat their formulas like lyrics, revisited, reinforced, repeated, until they’re impossible to forget.

Here’s the lesson for you 

Your brain isn’t betraying you. It’s just following its wiring. It holds onto what feels meaningful, emotional, or repeated. Songs get that privilege by default. Formulas don’t, unless you make them stick.

So next time you’re frustrated about forgetting, don’t complain that your memory is weak. Instead, ask: “Am I treating this formula the way I treat a song I want stuck in my head?”

Because in the end, remembering CAT formulas isn’t about intelligence. It’s about technique. And with the right technique, your brain can hum them as easily as your favourite playlist.