Yeah, sometimes it's necessary to memorize stuff so it can be called up precisely and used in analysis or whatever. I'm a BSC student age 50+ myself, so I've been through exams like that recently. In fact, quite a few because I had to do several basic sciences. Bureaucracy, politics and funding is what I don't like about environmental science topics. I'd rather stick to the science, so I relate on that aspect as well.

I guess the exam was today. Hope it went well for you.I like your nick, too, because it's part of physical geography.