After 6 weeks of online learning, moving back into the classroom was something that would have students either cheering or crying. Thankfully, Mr Chen had a way to ease our return to face-to-face learning. On Wednesday 27 May, Mr Chen’s Unit ½ Biology class was finally able to dissect a lamb heart. I say finally because through a camera, Mr Chen had already dissected one for our benefit, but it was much better being able to see the ventricles and aortas in person. To begin, we were to stick our fingers into one of the four holes at the top of the heart, in order to find each of the chambers and also have a good chuckle with our friends. We then sliced along the outside of the heart and saw our fingers in the chambers. A little weird, yes, but really beneficial for our learning. You see, our fingers essentially represent the blood flow going into the heart, enabling us to visualise where our blood would travel to in the heart. I know for me, being a visual learner, it was really helpful seeing first-hand how the heart looks and where each of the veins and arteries are, as this was really difficult to comprehend over the screen. Accompanying the dissection, Mr Chen showed us the effects of hydrogen peroxide on the heart. Once he poured the liquid over a small part, we could see white bubbles start to form and a rise in temperature. The whole dissection was really interesting, especially seeing the cow heart he had defrosted for us to see. We were able to see the difference of thickness in the heart between the left and right side, which again was very helpful in understanding the levels of blood pressure in the heart. All in all, the lesson was really fun and beneficial for all, and I’m happy that the whole online learning situation did not ruin this opportunity.
Dylan Suarez
11B
