3/31/2015
1. head
• the part that holds the
eyepiece tube and lens
• can sometimes be
rotated to easily share
your view with others
Always carry a microscope with
one hand holding the arm and one
hand under the base.
2. Arm
3. Coarse Adjustment Knob
• moves stage up and down
• supports the eyepiece
and connects it to the
base
Always carry a microscope with
one hand holding the arm and one
hand under the base.
4. Fine Adjustment Knob
• small, round knob on
the side of the
microscope
• used to fine-tune the
focus of your specimen
after using the coarse
adjustment knob
Always carry a microscope with
one hand holding the arm and one
hand under the base.
Always carry a microscope with
one hand holding the arm and one
hand under the base.
5. Base
• the bottom of the
microscope, used for
support
Always carry a microscope with
one hand holding the arm and one
hand under the base.
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6. Eyepiece / Ocular Lens
7. Objective Lenses
Adds to the magnification
• Usually you will find 3 or
4 objective lenses on a
microscope.
• almost always consist of
4X, 10X, 40X and 100X
powers.
• Ours are 4X, 10X, and
40X
• magnifies; where you look
through to see the image of
your specimen.
• Usually 10x or 15x power.
• Our microscopes have an
ocular lens power of 10x.
Always carry a microscope with
one hand holding the arm and one
hand under the base.
Always carry a microscope with
one hand holding the arm and one
hand under the base.
What’s my power?
Magnification
To calculate the power of magnification,
multiply the power of the ocular lens by the
power of the objective.
Your microscope has 3 magnifications: Scanning (4x),
Low (10x) and High (40x).
What are the powers of
magnification for each of
the objective lenses we have on
our microscopes?
Each objective will have written the magnification.
In addition to this, the ocular lens (eyepiece) has a
magnification (10x).
The total magnification is the ocular x objective
Comparing Powers of Magnification
We can see better details with
higher the powers of
magnification, but we cannot see
as much of the image.
Which of these
images would be
viewed at a higher
power of
magnification?
8. Stage
•
the flat platform
where you place
your slides
Always carry a microscope with
one hand holding the arm and one
hand under the base.
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9. Stage Clip
10. Light / Illuminator
• holds the slides in place
Always carry a microscope with
one hand holding the arm and one
hand under the base.
•
makes the specimen
easier to see
Always carry a microscope with
one hand holding the arm and one
hand under the base.
How to make a wet-mount slide …
Drawing Specimens
1 – Get a clean slide and coverslip from your teacher.
1. Use pencil - you can erase and shade areas
2 – Put your specimen in the center and place ONE
drop of water on it, in the middle of the slide. Don’t
use too much or the water will run off the edge.
2. All drawings should include clear and proper labels (and be
large enough to view details). Drawings should be labeled with
the specimen name and magnification.
3 – Place the edge of the cover slip on one side of the
water.
4 - Slowly lower the cover slip on top of the drop.
Cover
Slip
Lower
slowly
3. Labels should be written on the outside of the circle. The
circle indicates the viewing field as seen through the eyepiece,
specimens should be drawn to scale - ie..if your specimen takes
up the whole viewing field, make sure your drawing reflects
that.
5 – Place the slide on the stage and view it first with the
red-banded (4x) objective. Once you see the image, you
can view the slide with the different objectives (10x,
40x).
Microscope Care
• Always carry with 2 hands!
• Never touch the lenses with your fingers.
• Do not force knobs!
• When you are finished with your "scope“:
– rotate the nosepiece so that it's on the low power
objective
– roll the stage down to lowest level
– unplug and wrap the cord
– replace the dust cover.
Let’s give it a try ...
1 – Turn on the microscope and then rotate the nosepiece
to click the red-banded (4x) objective into place.
2 – Place a slide on the stage and secure it using the stage
clips. Use the coarse adjustment knob (large knob) to get
it the image into view and then use the fine adjustment
knob (small knob) to make it clearer.
3 – Once you have the image in view, rotate the
nosepiece to view it under different powers. Draw what
you see on your worksheet!
Be careful with the largest objective! Sometimes there is not enough
room and you will not be able to use it!
4 – When you are done, turn off the microscope and
put away the slides you used.
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