Microscope Basics

Question 1

what is the ocular lens

Answer 1

the eyepiece

Question 2

what is the body tube

Answer 2

the thing connecting the eyepiece to the rest of the microscope

Question 3

what is the nosepiece

Answer 3

the thing holding all the objectives, right under the body tube

Question 4

what are the objectives

Answer 4

the 3 different lenses to magnify the specimen, either red, yellow, or blue

Question 5

what is the arm

Answer 5

the steel bar connecting the objectives with the stage, where you are supposed to carry the microscope

Question 6

what is the stage

Answer 6

the platform that holds the slide, can be raised and lowered

Question 7

what are the stage clips

Answer 7

the two clips on either side of the stage that hold the slide in place

Question 8

what is the diaphragm

Answer 8

the filter below the stage that allows you to control how much light can go into the specimen

Question 9

what is the coarse adjustment

Answer 9

the knob on most but not all microscopes that moves the stage up and down rapidly

Question 10

what is the fine adjustment

Answer 10

the knob on most but not all microscopes that moves the stage up and down slowly to pick out more details

Question 11

what is the light

Answer 11

the light source that comes from under the slide or at an angle from the top of the slide to view the slide easily

Question 12

what is the base

Answer 12

the heavy bottom of the microscope, you hold the base whenever you pick the microscope up

Question 13

how do you calculate the power of magnification

Answer 13

multiply the power of the ocular lens by the power of the objective

Question 14

what is the smallest objective power and color

Answer 14

the smallest objective is red. its objective power is 4. since the eyepiece power is 10, the red objective must have a 40x power because 4x10=40

Question 15

what is the medium objective power and color

Answer 15

the medium objective is yellow. its objective power is 10. since the eyepiece power is 10, the red objective must have a 100x power because 10x10=100

Question 16

what is the large objective power and color

Answer 16

the large objective is blue. its objective power is 40. since the eyepiece power is 10, the red objective must have a 400x power because 40x10=400

Question 17

what happens to the view of the image if you increase the magnification

Answer 17

the image will become more detailed but we will see less of the image

Question 18

why can’t you use the largest objective for some slides

Answer 18

sometimes there is not enough room and you could break the slide

Question 19

how do you get a wet mount slide in 5 steps

Answer 19

1) get a slide and coverslip
2) place a drop of water on top of the specimen in the middle of the slide
3) place the edge of the coverslip on one side of the specimen
4) slowly lower the cover slip on the water
5) place the slide on the stage and begin viewing

Question 20

why do you make a wet mount slide

Answer 20

to safely stick a specimen to the slide so its easy to view