TheMicroscope PartsandUse

Name:_______________________

Period:______
Historianscredittheinventionofthecompoundmicroscope
totheDutchspectaclemaker,ZachariasJanssen,around
theyear1590. Thecompoundmicroscopeuseslenses
andlighttoenlargetheimageandisalsocalledanoptical
orlightmicroscope(vs./anelectronmicroscope). The
simplestopticalmicroscopeisthemagnifyingglassandis
goodtoabouttentimes(10X)magnification. The
compoundmicroscopehastwosystemsoflensesfor
greatermagnification,1)theocular,oreyepiecelensthat
onelooksintoand2)theobjectivelens,orthelensclosest
totheobject. Beforepurchasingorusingamicroscope,it
isimportanttoknowthefunctionsofeachpart.

EyepieceLens: thelensatthetopthatyoulookthrough.
Theyareusually10Xor15Xpower.

Tube: Connectstheeyepiecetotheobjectivelenses

Arm: Supportsthetubeandconnectsittothebase.Itis
usedalongwiththebasetocarrythemicroscope

Base: Thebottomofthemicroscope,usedforsupport

Illuminator: Asteadylightsource(110volts)usedinplaceofamirror.

Stage: Theflatplatformwhereyouplaceyourslides. Stageclipsholdtheslidesinplace.

RevolvingNosepieceorTurret: Thisisthepartthatholdstwoormoreobjectivelensesandcanberotatedto
easilychangepower.

ObjectiveLenses: Usuallyyouwillfind3or4objectivelensesonamicroscope. Theyalmostalwaysconsistof

4X,10X,40Xand100Xpowers. Whencoupledwitha10X(mostcommon)eyepiecelens,wegettotal
magnificationsof40X(4Xtimes10X),100X,400Xand1000X. Theshortestlensisthelowestpower,thelongest
oneisthelenswiththegreatestpower. Thehighpowerobjectivelensesareretractable(i.e.40XR). Thismeans
thatiftheyhitaslide,theendofthelenswillpushin(springloaded)therebyprotectingthelensandtheslide.

RackStop: Thisisanadjustmentthatdetermineshowclosetheobjectivelenscangettotheslide. Itissetat

thefactoryandkeepsstudentsfromcrankingthehighpowerobjectivelensdownintotheslideandbreaking
things.

DiaphragmorIris: Manymicroscopeshavearotatingdiskunderthestage. Thisdiaphragmhasdifferentsized

holesandisusedtovarytheintensityandsizeoftheconeoflightthatisprojectedupwardintotheslide. Thereis
nosetruleregardingwhichsettingtouseforaparticularpower. Rather,thesettingisafunctionofthe
transparencyofthespecimen,thedegreeofcontrastyoudesireandtheparticularobjectivelensinuse.

Coarseadjustment:Thisisusedtofocusthemicroscope.Itisalwaysusedfirst,anditisusedonlywiththelow
powerobjective.
Fineadjustment:Thisisusedtofocusthemicroscope.Itisusedwiththehighpowerobjectivetobringthe
specimenintobetterfocus.

HowtoFocusYourMicroscope: Theproperwaytofocusamicroscopeistostartwiththelowestpower
objectivelensfirstandwhilelookingfromtheside,crankthelensdownasclosetothespecimenaspossible
withouttouchingit. Now,lookthroughtheeyepiecelensandfocusupwardonlyuntiltheimageissharp. Ifyou
cantgetitinfocus,repeattheprocessagain. Oncetheimageissharpwiththelowpowerlens,youshouldbe
abletosimplyclickinthenextpowerlensanddominoradjustmentswiththefineadjustmentknob. Ifyour
microscopehasafinefocusadjustment,turningitabitshouldbeallthatsnecessary. Continuewithsubsequent
objectivelensesandfinefocuseachtime. Note:Botheyesshouldbeopenwhenviewingthroughthe
microscope.Thispreventseyefatigue,whichoccurswhenthenonviewingeyeiskeptclosed.Keepingboth
eyesopendoestakesomepractice,butitishighlyrecommended.Also,youshouldneverletyoureyetouchthe
ocularlens.Ifyoureyelashestouchthelensyouaretoclose.Alwaysremoveeyeglasseswhenviewingthrougha
microscope.Ifyoureyeglasslenstouchesthemicroscopeitmaygetscratched.

MakingawetmountslideProcedure:
1.Placeacleanslideonapapertowelonthelabtable.Handleslidesattheends,notthecenter,toavoid
gettingfingerprintsintheviewingareaoftheslide.
2.Placeadropofwateronthecenterofacleandryslide
3.Usingthetweezers,placethespecimeninthemiddleofthedrop.
4.Whileholdingthecoverslipupright,carefullyplaceoneedgeof
thecoverslipnexttothewater.Holdthecoverslipbytheedgesto
avoidfingerprints.Setoneedgeagainsttheslideandlowerituntilit
contactstheliquid.Theliquidshouldspreadacrossthewholeareaofthecoverslip.Slowlylowertheupperedge
ofthecoverslipontothewater.Theobjectiveistominimizeoreliminateairbubblesunderthecoverslip.You
mightfindithelpfultouseonetoothpicktoholdtheloweredgeinplace,whileusinganothertocarefullylowerthe
slipintoplace.
5.Anabsorbenttowelcanbeplacedattheedgeofthecoversliptodrawoutsomeofthewater,furtherflattening
thewetmountslide.
6.Neverviewaslidewithoutacoverslip.Thecoverslipprotectstheobjectivelensfromtheliquidontheslide.

HowToStainaSlide:
7. PlaceonedropofMethyleneBluestainononeedgeofthecoverslip,and
theflatedgeofapieceofpapertowelontheotheredgeofthecoverslip.
Thepapertowelwilldrawthewateroutfromunderthecoverslip,andthe
cohesionofthewaterwilldrawthestainunderthecoverslip.
2.Assoonasthestainhascoveredtheareacontainingthespecimenyouarefinished.Thestaindoesnot
needtobeundertheentirecoverslip.Ifthestaindoesnotcovertheareaneeded,getanewpieceofpapertowel
andaddmorestainuntilitdoes.
3.Besuretowipeofftheexcessstainwithapapertowel,soyoudontendupstainingtheobjectivelenses.
4.Youarenowreadytoplacetheslideonthemicroscopestage.Besuretofollowalltheinstructionsonthe
previouspagesastohowtousethemicroscope.
5.Whenyouhavecompletedyourdrawings,besuretowashanddryboththeslideandthecoverslipand
returnthemtothecorrectplaces!
6.Allslidesmustbeputawayinthepropertrays!Studentswillnotleaveuntilallmaterialshavebeenputway
properly.Youareateam!
7.RememberYoubreakityoubuyit!!!Themicroscopesyouareusinghaveareplacementcostof
about$500.(CASHONLYNOCHECKS)Beverycareful.Keepthepowercordsandmicroscopesat
least6inchesawayfromtheedgeofthecounter.
 MicroscopePartsandUseWorksheet
Name:______________
14 Period:_______

MicroscopePart
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1
1.Explainanimportantthingtorememberasyouturnthehighpowerobjectiveintoplace.

2.Whatshouldyoualwaysrememberwhenyouusethecoarseadjustment?

3.Underwhatconditionswouldyouadjustthediaphragm?

4.Whatshouldyoualwaysrememberwhenhandlingmicroscopeslides?

5.Whatisthepurposeofthestageclips?

6.Intermsofyoureyes,whatshouldyoutrytolearnasyouusethemicroscope?

7.Whatarethetwopartsusedtocarrythemicroscope?

8.Whatisthepurposeofthecoverslip?

9.Whatistheobjectivelensusedtolocatethespecimenandfirstfocus?

10.Whatarethechemicalscalledthataresometimesusedtomakethespecimensvisible?

11. Whatshouldyoudoifthehighpowerobjectivelenstouchesorbreaksthecoverslip?