Microscopy

Question 1

What do microscopes do?

Answer 1

Microscopes let us see things that we usually can’t with the naked eye.

Question 2

What do light microscopes do?

Answer 2

They use light and lenses to form an image of a specimen and magnify it. They let us see individual cells and large subcellular structures like nuclei.

Question 3

What do electron microscopes do?

Answer 3

They use electrons instead of light to form an image.

Question 4

What is the difference between an electron and a light microscope?

Answer 4

Electron microscopes have a much higher magnification. They also have a higher resolution.
They let you see even smaller things in more detail such as the internal structure of mitochondria and chloroplasts and see ribosomes and plasmids.

Question 5

What is resolution?

Answer 5

Resolution is the ability to distinguish between two points - higher resolution gives a sharper image

Question 6

What is the formula for magnification?

Answer 6

Magnification = image size/real size

Question 7

How many micrometres = 1000 millimetres?

Answer 7

Remember that 1000 micrometres = 1 millimetres