Microscope Basics

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Microscope
Basics
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Ocular lens(Eyepiece) 10X magnification
Body Tube
Nosepiece
Arm
Objectives
Stage
Stage Clips
Coarse Adjustment
Fine Adjustment
Light
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Whats my power? To calculate the power of
magnification, multiply the power of the ocular
lens by the power of the objective.
What are the powers of magnification for each of
the objectives we have on our microscopes? Fill
in the table on your worksheet.
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Band Color Objective Power Eyepiece Lens Power Power of Magnification
Red
Yellow
Blue
4x
10x
40x
10x
10x
100x
10x
400x
40x
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Comparing Powers of Magnification
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Is it best to always use high power?

• Why cant you use the largest objective (highest
  magnification) for some slides?
• Sometimes there is not enough room and you will
  not be able to see it!

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Lets give this a try ...
1 Turn on the microscope and then rotate the
nosepiece to click the red-banded objective (low
power 4x) 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.
4 When you are done, RETURN the slide you used
and then prepare your wet mount slide.
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How to make the wet-mount slide 1 Get a clean
slide and coverslip. 2 Use the tweezers to
break of a VERY TINY piece of leaf. Place the
leaf onto the slide with the tweezers. Add 1-2
drops of water on top of the leaf piece. 3
Obtain the cover slip. Place the edge of the
cover slip on one side of the water drop.
5 Place the slide on the stage and view it
first with the red-banded (low power) objective.
Once you see the image, you can rotate the
nosepiece to view the slide with the different
objectives.
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Ready, Set, Go!

• OK, youre ready to view a prepared slide and
  make a wet mount slide with your partner and view
  it under your scope!
• Have fun! CAREFUL fun! ?