Year 2012
Term 3
This term, it was our class's turn to do the biology module. Unfortunately, it meant that we would not be able to do as many lab lessons as the previous 2 terms. However, the few lab lessons we had were still enjoyable. In one of them, we had to use tools such as a magnifying glass and small but sharp knives to disect a flower. The flower that Trevor and I had to disect was a Hibiscus Flower, which was much easier to disect than the tiny clitoria flower that some other groups got. It was very interesting, seeing what is inside a real hibiscus flower with my own eyes. Although, I was quite sad to hear that that was the last science practical that we were having this year. I certainly wished that we could have more hands-on learning activities this term.
Term 2
Compared to term 1 practicals, term 2 lab sessions have been much less messy, due to the fact that we are concentrating more on optics this term. Rather than test tubes, safety goggles and chemical solutions, we have mirrors, prisms and other stuff related to optics. I find this term's practicals much more enjoyable as they are simpler and fun to carry out. At the same time, I have learnt much about optics through the lab sessions. I hope that term 3 practicals will be just as enriching and enjoyable as this term's lab sessions.
Term 1
Practical lessons have been focused more on chemistry, especially on acids and alkalies. These practicals require us to be extremely careful when handling the acids and solutions. Furthermore, boiling was involved so we had to wear safety goggles. My lab partner Trevor and I worked quite well together. We often split the practical between the 2 of us so that each of us can get a chance to experiment with the chemicals. On many occasions, our practical results were not very successful due to careless mistakes suck as over-boiling the solution, but overall it is a very fun and enriching experience.
Year 2011
Since term 1, we have 3 periods a week dedicated to Science Practical Lessons. These practical lessons were much more fun than normal classroom lessons and I learnt a lot of things from these.
Although most of the time, our class would be quite late for practical lessons as we have to travel from our classroom to the science lab, which is quite far away. If we reached the lab earlier, we could have gotten a lot more things done. Also, some of us forget to bring our practical file sometimes. This is also a problem as we are required to complete worksheets while conducting the experiment. If any of us did not bring the practical file, we would have to go down to the photocopy shop to photocopy another set of worksheets.
In the lab, safety is very important as we sometimes have to handle dangerous chemicals or other things that might harm us if not properly handled with. That is why we have to take safety precautions in the lab. Sometimes, we may have to wear safety googles to protect our eyes. Also, we must be very careful not to break things like beakers in the lab, or we will have to pay (like Cheng Leong did).
During the first few lessons, we learnt about lab safety and lab equipment. Mainly the Bunsen burner and other measuring equipment. I felt that this was not that interesting. Fortunately, we moved on to doing experiments relating to our syllabus, some which were quite fun. We would have to record down the results of the experiment in our practical file.
Overall, I feel that the science lab lessons are not only enjoyable an fun, but also enriching as well! It is a great way to teach science through hands on activities.
