Microscopes

Question 1

Stereomicroscope

Answer 1

• uses visible light to illuminate surface samples, can look at living tissue without disturbing it.
• x40-400 magnification (with oil immersion x2000)

Question 2

Compound light microscope

Answer 2

• uses visible light to illuminate thin sections of living samples
• x40-400 magnification (with oil immersion x2000 magnification)

Question 3

Confocal laser scanning microscope

Answer 3

• look at thin slices of specific parts of living cells (components are highlighted eg. Proteins are labelled by fluorescence)
• x2000 maximum magnification
• artefacts can be created

Question 4

Scanning electron microscope (SEM)

Answer 4

• look at the surfaces of objects at a high resolution in 3D
• x500 000 maximum magnification

Question 5

CryoSEM

Answer 5

• look at the surfaces of objects containing liquids , this means their resolution is lower than TEM. And living tissue can’t be viewed - although living states can be viewed
• x500 000 maximum magnification

Question 6

Electron tomography

Answer 6

• allows 3D model building of samples from TEM data, living tissue can’t be viewed and they’re expensive to use
• x500 000 maximum magnification and a high resolution

Question 7

Transmission electron microscope (TEM)

Answer 7

• look at the cross sections of objects, but living tissue can’t be viewed - they’re expensive to run
• x500 000 maximum magnification and a high resolution