Name: Date:_______

Activity 1. The Microscope

I. How Can a Microscope Help Us Study Living Things?

Microscope: an instrument that makes things look bigger.
Some living things are so small we can’t see them with the naked eye alone.
Many of these are one celled organisms called PROTOZOA [pro tuh ZO uh] and
BACTERIA.
We can see such tiny things with the help of a high-power microscope. A
microscope magnifies, or makes things look bigger.
Have you ever used a magnifying glass? It is a simple microscope.
A magnifying glass, or hand lens, is easy to use. It doesn’t weigh much, and
it’s easy to carry. But it doesn’t magnify objects very much. We still cannot see one-
celled plants and animals with a hand lens.
A compound microscope is much more powerful than a simple microscope.
Most school microscopes are compound microscope. They can make objects look
100 to 400 times as big as they really are. Some compound microscopes magnify
more than a thousand times. When we say “microscope,” we usually mean a
compound microscope.
The microscope has many uses, especially in biology – the
study of living things. Doctors often use microscopes. Is there

Parts of the Microscope

one in your doctor’s office?

Eyepiece: Lens closes to the eye.

High Power Objective: Longer of the two lenses
close to the slide. Lower Power Objective: Shorter of
the two lenses close to the slide. Tube: Gives the
distance needed between the eyepiece and objective.
Coarse Adjustment Knob: Moves the tube up and
down.
Fine Adjustment Knob: Also moves the tube up and down but only slightly.
Base: Holds up the entire microscope.
Arm: Holds the tube and lenses. Connects to the base.
Nosepiece: Holds objective lenses.
Light: Shines light into the tube.
Diaphragm: Circular disk that lets more or less light pass through.
Stage: Platform for slide to rest. An opening in its center lets light pass through.
Clips(2): Hold the slide in place on the stage.
 I. How Does a Microscope Magnify?

There are three lenses in the microscope. The top lens is called the eyepiece. It
is the lens closest to the eye. The other two lenses are called objectives. These are the
lenses closest to the object. The object is on a microscope slide. Different lenses
magnify in different powers. The power of magnification is marked by a number with an
x next to it. A lens that magnifies ten times is marked 10x.If the eyepiece is marked 10x
and the objective 10x, then the total magnification is 100x. To find the total
magnification of a microscope, just multiply the two magnifications. Complete the table
below by finding the total magnification for each pair of lenses.

Eyepiece Objective Lens Magnification

10x 10x 100x
10x 40x
10x 44x
5x 10x
5x 40x
20x 10x
II. Handling Microscope. A microscope is a delicate instrument. Treat it carefully.
1. A student in the figure below is holding the microscope properly. Can you
describe the right way to hold a microscope?
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2. The boy is wondering what to use to clean the microscope lenses. The lens tissue has
been treated to prevent scratching. What should one use to clean? Why?

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3. The girl is focusing a slide and she is moving the stage up toward the slide.
a. What has happened to the slide?
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b. Is this the proper way to focus?
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c. Should you focus by moving stage up or down?
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d. What happens to a microscope if place at the edge?
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e. What should you do to prevent this from happening?
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III. Matching. Match the two lists. Write the correct letter next to each number.
1. simple microscope a) support entire microscope.
2. base b) has one lens only.
3. compound microscope c) study of living things.
4. eyepiece d) has more than one lens.
5. biology e) lens closest to the eye.

III. True or false. Write T on the line next to the number if the sentence is true. Write
F if the sentence is false.
_________1. A microscope makes things bigger.
_________2. A microscope can have one lens.
_________3. Compound microscopes are used on nature walks.
_________4. A compound microscope magnifies more than a simple microscope does.
_________5. Light enters the eyepiece first.
_________6.A microscope stage must have an opening.
_________7. When you carry a microscope, you should hold it by the tube.
_________8.Focusing upward can crack a slide.
_________9You should use only lens tissue to clean a microscope lens.
IV. Find the Parts. Write the name of the microscope part next to the correct line in
the picture.

Microscope Use:

1. When focusing a specimen, you should always start with the

objective.
2. When using the high power objective, only the knob should be
used.
3. The type of microscope used in most science classes is the ________microscope.
4. You should carry the microscope by the and the
.
5. The objectives are attached to what part of the microscope (it can be rotated
to click lenses into place?)__________________
6. A microscope has an ocular objective of 10x and a high power objective
of 50x, what is the microscope's total magnification? ___________