MARBER NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Marber, Bansalan, Davao del Sur

Quarter 2 ; MICROSCOPE
 10 Fun Facts About the History of the Microscope
 The earliest microscopes were known as “flea glasses” because they were used to study small insects.
 A father-son duo, Zacharias and Han Jansen, created the first compound microscope in the 1590s.
Zacharias Jansen credited for inventing the compound light microscope.
 Anton van Leeuwenhoek created powerful lenses that could see teeming bacteria in a drop of water.
 Robert Hooke discovered cells by studying the honeycomb structure of a cork under a microscope.
 Marcello Marpighi, known as the father of microscopic anatomy, found taste buds and red blood cells.
 Robert Koch used a compound microscope to discover tubercle and cholera bacilli.
 German engineer Carl Zeiss revolutionized the quality of lenses in the 19th century.
 The smallest object observed through a light microscope was 500 nanometers long.
 In 2008 the TEAM 0.5 debuted. It is the world’s most powerful transmission electron microscope and
is capable of producing images half a ten-billionth of a meter.
 Researchers used microscopes in 2013 to demonstrate how life could have started.
Parts of a microscope
There are three structural parts of the microscope i.e. head, base, and arm.

Head – This is also known as the body. It carries the optical parts in the upper part of the microscope.
Base – It acts as microscopes support. It also carries microscopic illuminators.
Arms – This is the part connecting the base and to the head and the eyepiece tube to the base of the
microscope. It gives support to the head of the microscope and it is also used when carrying the
microscope. Some high-quality microscopes have an articulated arm with more than one joint allowing
more movement of the microscopic head for better viewing.
Optical parts of a microscope and their functions
The optical parts of the microscope are used to view, magnify, and produce an image from a specimen
placed on a slide. These parts include:

Eyepiece – also known as the ocular. This is the part used to look through the microscope. Its found
at the top of the microscope. Its standard magnification is 10x with an optional eyepiece having
magnifications from 5X to 30X.
Eyepiece tube – it’s the eyepiece holder. It carries the eyepiece just above the objective lens. In some
microscopes such as the binoculars, the eyepiece tube is flexible and can be rotated for maximum
visualization, for variance in distance. For monocular microscopes, they are none flexible.
Objective lenses – These are the major lenses used for specimen visualization. They have a
magnification power of 40x-100X. There are about 1- 4 objective lenses placed on one microscope, in
that some are rare facing and others face forward. Each lens has its own magnification power.
Nose piece – also known as the revolving turret. It holds the objective lenses. It is movable hence it cal
revolve the objective lenses depending on the magnification power of the lens.
The Adjustment knobs – These are knobs that are used to focus the microscope. There are two types
of adjustment knobs i.e fine adjustment knobs and coarse adjustment knobs.
Stage – This is the section in which the specimen is placed for viewing. They have stage clips that hold
the specimen slides in place. The most common stage is the mechanical stage, which allows the
control of the slides by moving the slides using the mechanical knobs on the stage instead of moving
them manually.
Aperture – This is a hole on the microscope stage, through which the transmitted light from the
source reaches the stage.
Microscopic illuminator – This is the microscopes light source, located at the base. It is used instead
of a mirror. It captures light from an external source of a low voltage of about 100v.
Condenser – These are lenses that are used to collect and focus light from the illuminator into the
specimen. They are found under the stage next to the diaphragm of the microscope. They play a major
role in ensuring clear sharp images are produced with a high magnification of 400X and above. The
higher the magnification of the condenser, the more the image clarity. More sophisticated microscopes
come with an Abbe condenser that has a high magnification of about 1000X.
Diaphragm – it’s also known as the iris. Its found under the stage of the microscope and its primary
role is to control the amount of light that reaches the specimen. It’s an adjustable apparatus, hence
controlling the light intensity and the size of the beam of light that gets to the specimen. For high-
quality microscopes, the diaphragm comes attached with an Abbe condenser and combined they are
able to control the light focus and light intensity that reaches the specimen.
Condenser focus knob – this is a knob that moves the condenser up or down thus controlling the
focus of light on the specimen.
 Abbe Condenser – this is a condenser specially designed for high-quality microscopes, which makes
the condenser to be movable and allows very high magnification of above 400X. High-quality
microscopes normally have a high numerical aperture than objective lenses.
The rack stop – It controls how far the stages should go preventing the objective lens from getting too
close to the specimen slide which may damage the specimen. It is responsible for preventing the
specimen slide from coming too far up and hitting the objective lens.

Parts of a Microscope Revision Questions (FAQs)

Q. Define a Microscope.
Ans. Microscopes are instruments that are used in science laboratories, to visualize very
minute objects such as cells, and microorganisms, giving a contrasting image, that is
magnified.
Q. State functions of a microscope.
Ans. A microscope is usually used for the study of microscopic algae, fungi, and biological
specimens.
Q. Diagrammatically, identify the various parts of a microscope.
Ans. https://microbenotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Microscope-Parts-Diagram-
1024×909.jpeg
Q. Describe the functions of each part of the microscope you have drawn above.
Ans. https://microbenotes.com/parts-of-a-microscope/#structural-parts-of-a-microscope-
and-their-functions
Q. Differentiate between a condenser and an Abbe condenser.
Ans. Condensers are lenses that are used to collect and focus light from the illuminator
into the specimen. They are found under the stage next to the diaphragm of the
microscope. They play a major role in ensuring clear sharp images are produced with a
high magnification of 400X and above. Abbe condenser is a condenser specially designed
for high-quality microscopes, which makes the condenser to be movable and allows very
high magnification of above 400X. High-quality microscopes normally have a high
numerical aperture than objective lenses.
Q. What is the magnification power of the objective lenses?
Ans. Objective lenses have a magnification power of 40X to 100X.
Q. How does the eyepiece compare to the objective lens?
Ans. The eyepiece, also known as the ocular is the part used to look through the
microscope. Its found at the top of the microscope. Its standard magnification is 10x with
an optional eyepiece having magnifications from 5X – 30X. Objective Lens are the major
lenses used for specimen visualization. They have a magnification power of 40x-100x.
There are about 1- 4 objective lenses placed on one microscope, in that some are rare
facing and others face forward.
Q. Why is the rack stop included in the microscope from the factory, and can it be
replaced?
Ans. Rack stop is included in the microscope for preventing the specimen slide from
coming too far up and hitting the objective lens.
Q. What is a magnification power?
Ans. Magnification of a lens is defined as the ratio of the height of an image to the height
of an object. Microscope magnification measures the total enlargement of the image of an
object. Magnification power is the product of eyepiece lens power and objective lens
power.
Q. Differentiate between the fine and the coarse adjustment knobs.
Ans. The coarse adjustment knob moves the stage up and down to bring the specimen
into focus. The fine adjustment knob brings the specimen into sharp focus under low
power and is used for all focusing when using high-power lenses.
Q. List down the 18 parts of a Microscope.
1. Ocular Lens (Eye Piece)
2. Diopter Adjustment
3. Head
4. Nose Piece
5. Objective Lens
6. Arm (Carrying Handle)
7. Mechanical Stage
8. Stage Clip
9. Aperture
10. Diaphragm
11. Condenser
12. Coarse Adjustment
13. Fine Adjustment
14. Illuminator (Light Source)
15. Stage Controls
16. Base
17. Brightness Adjustment
18. Light Switch
Q. List down the 3 structural parts of a microscope.
1. Head
2. Arms
3. Base