Microscopy - 2.1 - BASIC COMPONENTS OF LIVING SYSTEMS (1) Flashcards
Module 2, Chapter 2, 2.1, Page 8 and 10
Before the invention of microscopes…
we knew nothing of bacteria, cells, sperm, pollen grains, chromosomes - the list is endless.
What do microscopes give us the power to understand?
disease, see how a new life is formed, watch the process of chromosomes as cells divide, and manipulate the processes of life itself.
What is a microscope?
a microscope is an instrument which enables you to magnify an object hundreds, thousands and even hundreds of thousands of times.
What can we see with our naked eye?
many large organisms
What do microscopes open up?
a whole world of unicellular organisms (which are only made up of one cell and microscopic in size)
What do microscopes allow us to discover?
how the details of the structures of individual cells, which make up multicellular organisms, relate to their functions
What is the first type of microscope to be developed?
light microscopes in the 16th to 17th century
Since the 16th to 17th century, light microscopes have continued to be…
developed and improved
What were scientists able to access by the mid-19th century for the first time?
they had access to microscopes with a high enough level of magnification to allow them to see individual cells.
In cell theory, both plant and animal…
tissue is composed of cells
Cells are the basic unit of…
all life
Cells only develop from…
existing cells
What makes light microscopy still important to this day?
how it is easily available, relatively cheap, can be used out in the field, and it can be used to observe living organisms as well as dead, prepared specimens.
What is a compound microscope?
compound microscopes are microscopes that use multiple lenses to enlarge the image of the specimen
What does a compound light microscope have?
two lenses - objective lens and an eyepiece lens
