Forgetting Curve

A model of how memory declines sharply soon after learning and then levels off, unless the material is reviewed.

• Ex: Most of the loss of a memorized list comes in the first hour and the first day; what is left after a day is still mostly there a month later.
• Ex: Names from a class roster read once are mostly gone by the next class, and the few that stick stay for the semester.
• Ex: Material crammed the night before an exam is mostly gone within days, so little of it is left by the next semester.

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Last updated: October 5, 2026 at 5:27 PM