Topic 1 - Size, Scale And Estimations And Units And Standard Form

Question 1

How is the magnification of a light microscope calculated?

Answer 1

Magnification of the eyepiece lens x magnification of the objective lens

Question 2

What formula is used to determine the size of an object in microscopy?

Answer 2

Size of image / magnification = size of object

Question 3

What is the range for the ‘number’ in standard form?

Answer 3

Between 1 and 10

Question 4

Convert 1.5 × 10⁻⁵ to a decimal.

Answer 4

0.000015

Question 5

Convert 3.4 × 10³ to a decimal.

Answer 5

3400

Question 6

If an object is 10 times bigger than another, how is this expressed?

Answer 6

10¹ times bigger

Question 7

If an object is 1000 times bigger than another, how is this expressed?

Answer 7

10³ times bigger

Question 8

If an object is 10 times smaller than another, how is this expressed?

Answer 8

10⁻¹ times smaller

Question 9

What does the prefix ‘centi’ represent in terms of unit multiplication?

Answer 9

0.01

Question 10

What does the prefix ‘milli’ represent in terms of unit multiplication?

Answer 10

0.001

Question 11

What does the prefix ‘micro’ represent in terms of unit multiplication?

Answer 11

0.000001

Question 12

What does the prefix ‘nano’ represent in terms of unit multiplication?

Answer 12

0.000000001

Question 13

How can estimations be useful in biology?

Answer 13

When we don’t know how many of something there is, or if it would take too long to count

Question 14

In estimating the number of dandelions in a field, how is the total number calculated?

Answer 14

Number in 1m x 1m square x number of squares that fit in the field

Question 15

If one 1m x 1m square contains 15 dandelions and the entire field is 50m x 50m, how many dandelions are in the whole field?

Answer 15

750 dandelions

Question 16

What is the significance of the number 750 in the context of estimation?

Answer 16

750 is just an estimate - the real number will likely be different.

Question 17

What happens as we increase the number of squares we look at?

Answer 17

The more squares we look at (or ‘sample’), the closer we will get to the real number.

Question 18

Fill in the blank: The more squares we look at, the closer we will get to the _______.

Answer 18

[real number]