The Scalpel And The Potato

Biology practical today was simply awful.

Picture a basket of about 70 potatoes handed out to 26 students [2 each].

Cork borer[1 per 2 students].

Number 4 scalpel[student's own].

Aim: To cut up the potatoes with extreme precision such that 12 chips of dimensions 30m by 5mm by 5mm are obtained [within the time limit of 1 hour 15 minutes inclusive of a report].

Just imagine the frustration of unskilled students untrained in the ways of the scalpel in medical school trying to use it so precisely so that the potato chips can be immersed in sucrose solution of different concentration. The ultimate aim is to plot a graph to find out the concentration of the potato tissue.

Considering that 353 Year 1s take Biology in TJC, 706 potatoes were chopped up and thrown into the rubbish bin within a week. Biology practicals are always a waste of food. In 2004, the O level practical paper saw a nationwide drawing competition of prawns, with the adventurous few roasting the prawns provided with the Bunsen burner on the bench.

Oh well the price to pay for advances in science.

For the curious-Alien and the Scalpel. How alien abductions lead to unusual items implanted into the bodies of victims.

Later!

The Observatory-Waste Your Life