World’s Most Powerful Microscope Educator Guide
A resource for using QUEST video in the classroom
Watch it online http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/the-worlds-most-powerful-microscope | 10:18 minutes
QUEST
SUBJECTS
Life
Science
Biology
Health
Environment
Earth
Science
Geology
Weather
Astronomy
Physical
Science
PROGRAM NOTES
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory just turned on a $27 million electron microscope.
Its ability to make images to a resolution of half the width of a hydrogen atom makes it
the most powerful microscope in the world.
In this segment you’ll find…
۞ what the earliest microscopes were used for and how
they evolved into today’s common light microscope.
۞ a description of the form and function of the electron
Physics
Chemistry
Engineering
microscope and how it’s used by scientists.
۞ why scientists study different materials with the electron
microscope and what they will do with that knowledge.
CA SCIENCE
STANDARDS
Grade 5
Physical Science
1. Elements and their
combinations account for
all the varied types of
matter in the world.(b, e)
Grade 7
Cell Biology
1. All living organisms are
composed of cells, from
just one to many trillions,
whose details are usually
visible only through a
microscope. (b)
Physical Principles in
Living Systems
6. Physical principles
underlie biological
structures and functions.
(d, f)
Grades 9-12
Chemistry
2. Biological, chemical and
physical properties of
matter result from the
ability of atoms to form
bonds from electrostatic
force between elections
and protons and between
atoms and molecules. (a)
TOPIC BACKGROUND
Microscopes are instruments that help people study objects that are too small to be seen
with the unaided eye. The history of microscopes dates back nearly two millennia, when
the earliest “magnifying glasses” paved the way for later inventions. In the late 17th
century, Anton van Leeuwenhoek, known as the “father of microscopy,” was the first to
describe the bacteria he saw through a microscope. Robert Hook, in England, later
reconfirmed his discoveries and improved the microscope’s design.
Today there are many different types of microscopes for
different uses, depending on the object being researched.
Some, like the one at the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, can enable scientists to look at objects at atomic
and molecular scales!
The light microscope has enhanced our knowledge of basic
biology, biomedical research, medical diagnosis and the science of materials. It works by
bending and focusing light through a series of lenses and into your eye. The power, or
magnification, of the microscope depends on the degree to which each lens bends the
light. A 100x microscope means the image you see in the eyepiece is 100 times larger
than real life.
In contrast, an electron microscope passes a beam of electrons though a specimen.
While lenses bend the light in a light microscope, magnets bend the electron beams in an
electron microscope. It is capable of imaging at a much higher resolution than a light
microscope because of the short wavelengths of electrons. The image is then magnified
and focused onto an imaging device, like a fluorescent screen. This image can then be
detected by a sensor or projected onto a layer of photographic film. The electron
microscope in Berkeley is called TEAM, for Transmission Electron Aberration-Corrected
Microscope. TEAM can allow scientists to examine a single column of atoms, which is
tens of thousands times smaller than the smallest observable object in a light
microscope. TEAM is one of a new generation of microscopes designed to analyze how
atoms combine to form materials, how materials grow and how they respond to a variety
of external factors.
VOCABULARY
Atom
the smallest unit of an
element
PRE-VIEWING
•
Describe what you know about what microscopes are used for and how they work.
•
Why do scientists use microscopes?
•
List the different types of things a scientist can look at using a microscope.
Cell
the smallest structural
unit of an organism
Carbon
a widely distributed
element that forms
organic compounds
VIEWING FOCUS
NOTE: You may choose to watch the television segment twice with your students: once
to elicit emotional responses and get an overview of the topic and again to focus on facts
and draw out opinions.
Electron Microscope
a microscope of
extremely high power
that uses beams of
electrons focused by
magnetic lenses
instead of rays of light
to magnify objects
•
Describe what the earliest microscopes looked like and what they were used for.
•
Who was the scientist who first studied cells by using a microscope?
•
How does the electron microscope work?
•
What are differences and similarities between the electron microscope and the light
microscope?
•
Describe some of the materials that scientists are studying using the electron
microscope. Why are they studying these materials?
Light Microscope
a microscope that uses
light and lenses to
magnify objects
For all media see:
o Segment Summary Student Sheet
http://www.kqed.org/quest/downloads/QUEST_SegSum_StudentSheet.pdf
o Personal Response Student Sheet
http://www.kqed.org/quest/downloads/QUEST_PersResp_StudentSheet.pdf
Microscope
an optical instrument
that uses a lens or a
combination of lenses
to produce magnified
images of small objects
Precipitates
clumps of metals
QUEST, PBS and NPR LESSON PLANS and RESOURCES
NOTE: Resources from the Teachers’ Domain collection require a fast and free registration.
Super Microscope KQED
http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/super-microscope
In this QUEST program, see how cutting-edge microscopes at UC San Francisco are
helping scientists create three-dimensional images of cells. With this information,
scientists contribute to medical breakthroughs for diabetes and other diseases.
Robert Hook
pioneering scientist who
studied and recorded
cells by using a
microscope
Geometric Optics Teachers’ Domain
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/lsps07.sci.phys.energy.geometoptics/
Use this interactive simulation, adapted from the University of Colorado's Physics
Education Technology project, to learn how lenses refract light to form images.
Investigate how a convex lens refracts light.
Spherical Aberration
a variation in focal
length of a lens or
mirror due to its
spherical shape
Find the Fish: How Light Refraction Affects Where to Find the Big One PBS
http://www.pbs.org/edens/tasmania/teacher.html
Use this lesson plan and video to help students understand ways in which light interacts
with matter (e.g., transmission, including refraction; absorption; scattering, including
reflection).
Transmission
Electron AberrationCorrecting
Microscope
an electron microscope
designed to correct
spherical aberration
Images from the World’s Most Powerful Microscope QUEST
http://www.kqed.org/quest/slideshow/web-extra-images-from-the-worlds-most-powerfulmicroscope
Check out amazing new atomic-scale images from TEAM.
Producer's Notes: World's Most Powerful Microscope QUEST
http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/2009/03/30/producers-notes-worlds-most-powerfulmicroscope/
Read Gabriela Quirós’ report about the electron microscope (TEAM 0.5) at the Lawrence
Berkeley National Lab.
VISIT OUR PARTNERS
MORE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR USING QUEST MULTIMEDIA TO
ENHANCE 21st CENTURY SKILLS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
The Bay Institute
www.bay.org
California Academy of
Sciences
Why Use Media in Science Education?
www.kqed.org/quest/downloads/QUEST_Why_Media_08-09.pdf
www.calacademy.org
• “As science educators, we know how important critical thinking and new
technology skills are in the scientific community…” (read more).
Chabot Space and Science
Center
www.kqed.org/quest/downloads/QUEST_Science_Multimedia_Analysis_08-09.pdf
www.chabotspace.org
East Bay Regional Park
District
www.ebparks.org
Exploratorium
www.exploratorium.edu
Girl Scouts of Northern
California
www.girlscoutsbayarea.org
Golden Gate National
Parks Conservancy
www.parksconservancy.org
The J. David Gladstone
Institutes
Science Multimedia Analysis
• “By increasing students’ awareness of the intersections between media and
science, we give them the tools to think like scientists…” (read more).
How to Use Science Media for Teaching and Learning
http://www.kqed.org/quest/downloads/QUEST_Media_Tips_08-09.pdf
• If we consider all forms of media “texts” from which students gather
information, we can use similar literacy strategies to engage them in video,
audio, blogs and Explorations. Once students have obtained information from
multiple media sources, how do they share what they have learned? Through
their own media-creation projects, of course!
Using Google Maps to Create Explorations
http://www.kqed.org/quest/files/download/52/QUEST_ExplorationCreation.pdf
• Do you like the science hike Explorations on the QUEST site? Use this place-
based educational guide for educators and group leaders to create similar
science-based maps with youth.
www.gladstone.ucsf.edu
Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory
OTHER WAYS TO PARTICIPATE IN QUEST
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www.lawrencehallofscience.org
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Major funding is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Foundation, and
The Amgen Foundation. Additional support is provided by the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, Ann S. Bowers - The
Robert Noyce Trust, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, and the Vadasz Family Foundation.
QUEST is a production of KQED, © 2009 KQED, San Francisco