The Microscope

Teacher’s Guide
Middle School
Editors:
Brian A. Jerome, Ph.D.
Stephanie Zak Jerome

Assistant Editors:
Louise Marrier
Hannah Fjeld

Graphics:
Dean Ladago
Fred Thodal

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25 Union Street
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The Microscope

Use and Copyright

The purchase of this video program entitles the user the right to reproduce
or duplicate, in whole or in part, this teacher’s guide and the blackline
master handouts for the purpose of teaching in conjunction with this video,
The Microscope. The right is restricted only for use with this video program.
Any reproduction or duplication, in whole or in part, of this guide and student
masters for any purpose other than for use with this video program is
prohibited.

The video and this teacher’s guide are the exclusive property
of the copyright holder. Copying, transmitting or reproducing
in any form, or by any means, without prior written permission
from the copyright holder is prohibited (Title 17, U.S. Code
Sections 501 and 506).

Copyright © 2006

ISBN 978-1-59234-143-8

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 The Microscope

Table of Contents
Page

A Message From Our Company 5

National Standards Correlations 6

Student Learning Objectives 7

Assessment 8

Introducing the Video 9

Video Viewing Suggestions 9

Video Script 10

Student Assessments and Activities 16

Answers to Student Assessments 17

Answers to Student Activities 18

Assessment and Student Activity Masters 19

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The Microscope

Viewing
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In showing these programs, no admission charges are to be incurred. The
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Discounts may be granted to institutions interested in purchasing programs in

large quantities. These discounts may be negotiated with the Visual Learning
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 The Microscope

A Message from
our Company. . .
Dear Educator:

Thank you for your interest in the educational videos produced by the Visual
Learning Company. We are a Vermont-based, family owned and operated business
specializing in the production of quality educational science videos and materials.

We have a long family tradition of education. Our grandmothers graduated from

normal school in the 1920’s to become teachers. Brian’s mother was an elementary
teacher and guidance counselor, and his father was a high school teacher and
superintendent. This family tradition inspired Brian to become a science teacher,
and to earn a Ph.D. in education, and led Stephanie to work on science educational
programs at NASA.

In developing this video, accompanying teacher’s guide, and student activities,

our goal is to provide educators with the highest quality materials, thus enabling
students to be successful. In this era of more demanding standards and assessment
requirements, supplementary materials need to be curricular and standards
based - this is what we do!

Our videos and accompanying materials focus on the key concepts and vocabulary
required by national and state standards and goals. It is our mission to help students
meet these goals and standards, while experiencing the joy and thrill of science.

Sincerely,

Brian and Stephanie Jerome

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The Microscope

National Standards Correlations

National Science Education Standards
(Content standards: 5-8, National Academy of Sciences, c. 1996)

Science as Inquiry (Content Standard A)

Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data.
• The use of tools and techniques, including mathematics, will be guided by the
questions asked and the investigations students design.

Life Science (Content Standard C)

• All organisms are composed of cells- the fundamental unit of life. Most
organisms are single cells; other organisms, including humans, are
multicellular.

Benchmarks for Science Literacy

(Project 2061 – AAAS, c. 1993)

Technology and Science (3A)

By the end of the 5th grade, students should know that:

• Measuring instruments can be used to gather accurate information for

making scientific comparisons of objects and events, and for designing and
constructing things that will work properly.

The Living Environment (5C)

By the end of the 8th grade, students should know that:

• All living things are composed of cells, from just one to many millions, whose
details usually are visible only through a microscope. Different body tissues and
organs are made up of different kinds of cells. The cells in similar tissues and
organs in other animals are similar to those in human beings but differ somewhat
from cells found in plants.

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 The Microscope

Student Learning Objectives

Upon viewing the video and completing the enclosed student activities, students will
be able to do the following:

• Describe that the basic function of a microscope is to make small objects look larger.

• Understand that microscopes have played a very important role in furthering scientific
understanding of cells and many other things too small to be seen with the naked
eye.

• Compare the design and use of different types of microscopes including the
compound light microscope, stereo microscope, and electron microscope.

• Differentiate between the functions of a scanning electron microscope and a

transmission electron microscope.

• Define magnification as the ability to make things appear larger than they actually are.

• Generally explain how a compound light microscope uses lenses and light to magnify
an image.

• Identify and state the functions of the following parts of a compound light microscope:
base, arm, light source, stage, diaphragm, objective lenses, nosepiece, body tube,
eyepiece, coarse adjustment, and fine adjustment.

• Demonstrate how to safely view a prepared slide under low power and high power
magnification.

• Demonstrate how to safely carry a microscope with two hands, with one hand always
under the base.

• Understand that images viewed under the microscope appear upside down and
backwards in relation to their actual position.

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The Microscope

Assessment

Preliminary Assessment:
The Preliminary Assessment, provided in the Student Masters section, is an
assessment tool designed to gain an understanding of students’ pre-existing
knowledge. It can also be used as a benchmark upon which to assess
student progress based on the objectives stated on the previous pages.

Video Review:
The Video Review, provided in the Student Masters section, can be used as
an assessment tool or as a student activity. There are two main parts. The
first part contains questions that can be answered during the video. The
second series of ten questions consists of a video quiz to be answered at the
conclusion of the video.

Post Assessment:
The Post Assessment, provided in the Student Masters section, can be utilized
as an assessment tool following completion of the video and student activities.
The results of the Post Assessment can be compared against the results of the
Preliminary Assessment to evaluate student progress.

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 The Microscope

Introducing the Video

Before showing the video to your students, cut out a picture of someone’s face from a
magazine, and tape it to the blackboard. Try to find a picture of someone the students
will readily recognize. Make sure the picture is not bigger than a quarter of an inch
(about .7 centimeters). Ask students sitting at their desks if they can tell what the
picture is. Next ask a volunteer to come forward to see if they can identify the face of
the person when standing 1 meter away. Next give them a magnifying glass to identify
the person. Discuss the concept of magnification.
Next ask the class what instrument they would need to identify the eye color of the
person. Explain that the image could be put under a compound light microscope.
Show your students a compound light microscope. Place the photo on a slide and
make a wet mount of it. Put the slide on the stage and focus the image under low
power. Have a student volunteer come forward to look at the image through the
microscope. Ask the student if they can identify the eye color of the person. Ask
students to list the types of tasks for which microscopes are useful. Tell students to pay
close attention to learn more about how microscopes work, and how to safely use a
microscope.

Video Viewing Suggestions

The student Master “Video Review” is provided for distribution to students. You may
choose to have your students complete this Master while viewing the program or to
do so upon its conclusion.

The program is approximately twenty minutes in length and includes a ten question
video quiz. Answers are not provided to the Video Quiz on the video, but are included
in this teacher’s guide. You may choose to grade student quizzes as an assessment
tool or to review the answers in class.

The video is content-rich with numerous vocabulary words. For this reason you
may want to periodically stop the video to review and discuss new terminology and
concepts.

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The Microscope

Video Script: The Microscope

1. This pond is full of millions of tiny organisms too small to be seen with the naked
eye.
2. The mouth of this dog contains a wide range of organisms called bacteria.
3. Even though you can’t see them, dozens of different kinds of tiny living things
live in this single drop of water taken from this wetland.
4. And the blood coming from this cut contains thousands of tiny cells.
5. How do we know about all these different living things?
6. And how is it possible for scientists, and even you as a science student, to
observe these fascinating living things?
7. The answer lies in the use of a remarkable tool – the microscope.
8. What exactly is a microscope? Simply put, a microscope is an instrument that
makes small objects look larger.
9. A microscope produces an enlarged image of something that might otherwise be
too small to be seen with the naked eye.
10. During the next few minutes we are going to take a look at some of the different
types of microscopes.
11. And we are going to discuss how you can effectively and safely use a
microscope in your science classroom.
12. But, first let us take a quick look at the development of early microscopes.
13. Graphic Transition – Early Microscopes
14. Until the late 1500s it was not possible to see very small objects, such as cells.
15. In fact, people weren’t even sure if cells existed.
16. In 1590, the invention of the microscope enabled people to look at very small
objects never before seen.
17. Early microscopes consisted of simple lenses inserted in a tube.
18. The first compound light microscopes consisted of a tube with a lens at each
end.
19. We will talk more about compound light microscopes later.
20. In 1663, the English biologist, Robert Hooke, improved on the design of early
microscopes, thus enabling him to make one of the most important discoveries in
the history of biology.
21. By cutting a very thin slice of cork, and placing the section under a microscope,
he made an important discovery.
22. You Decide! What are these structures Hooke saw?
23. These structures are cork cells. The discovery of cells served as the basis
for other scientists such as Antonie von Leeuwenhoek and Mathias Schleiden to
develop a more thorough understanding of cells, which we now know are the basic
unit of life.

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 The Microscope

Script Cont.
24. Microscopes have played a critical role in helping scientists further our
understanding of not only cells, . . .
25. . . . but of other living and non-living things too small to be seen with the naked
eye.
26. Graphic Transition – Types of Microscopes
27. Today, scientists have access to a wide range of different kinds of microscopes.
28. These microscopes vary in the level of complexity, cost, and the type of work
they can perform.
29. Perhaps you have seen a microscope similar to this in your science classroom.
30. This type of microscope is generally referred to as a compound light
microscope.
31. Compound light microscopes have more than one lens, and use light to magnify
an object.
32. Using a single lens, a magnifying glass produces an image a few times larger
than an object.
33. But a compound microscope uses two or more lenses to create an image that is
up to one thousand times larger than the actual object.
34. Another type of microscope you may have seen in your science classroom is
called a stereomicroscope.
35. This type of microscope is similar to a compound light microscope but it is used
to closely study large objects such as rocks, flowers, and other kinds of living
things.
36. A very sophisticated type of microscope that has greater ability to magnify
objects is called the electron microscope, as seen here.
37. Instead of light, the electron microscope sends a beam of tiny particles called
electrons over the surface of a specimen to create an image.
38. This creates a detailed three-dimensional image of the surface of a specimen,
and can enlarge it up to 150,000 times.
39. Scanning Electron Microscopes are quite expensive and are found at
universities and other institutions that conduct scientific research.
40. Another type of electron microscope called the Transmission Electron
Microscope actually passes electrons through a very thinly sliced specimen.
41. Because this microscope can enlarge a specimen up to 500,000 times its
actual size, it is very useful for studying the internal structures of cells.
42. Graphic Transition - The Compound Light Microscope
43. This is what the image of a compound microscope looks like without light.

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Script Cont.
44. And here is the image with the light on. As you can see, light is essential for a
compound light microscope to work properly.
45. Magnification is the ability to make things appear larger than they actually are.
46. Lenses are essential for the magnification of specimens. A close look at a lens,
such as the one in a magnifying glass reveals that the lens is not flat, but is thicker
in the middle than at the edges.
47. When light passes through the lens it is bent and magnified, making the object
appear larger than it really is.
48. In a compound light microscope, light passes up through a specimen and then
through two or more lenses before reaching the eye.
49. The total magnification of the microscope is computed by multiplying the
magnification of the different lenses.
50. For example, let us say that the magnification of the lower lens is 40,…
51. …and the magnification of the upper lens is 10.
52. You Compute! What is the total magnification?
53. That is right, by multiplying 10 by 40 we get a total magnification of 400.
54. This means that these bacteria are magnified 400 times their actual size.
55. Graphic Transition – Parts of the Compound Microscope
56. Each part of a car has a specific name and function. It is useful to know the name
of the part and to understand the job it performs.
57. The same holds true for the compound light microscope in your science
classroom.
58. Let us take a minute to discuss the parts of the microscope.
59. The base supports the microscope and keeps it stable.
60. The base is attached to the arm. The arm support the body tube seen here.
61. Near the base is the light source or mirror.
62. If a mirror is used, it is necessary to use a light which the mirror reflects upward
through the specimen.
63. If an actual light is present, an on/off switch is adjacent to it.
64. This flat, black area is called the stage. The stage supports the slide being
viewed.
65. In the middle of the stage is a hole which allows for the passage of light originating
from below.
66. Beneath the stage is a mechanism called the diaphragm.
67. The diaphragm is an adjustment which controls the amount of light passing
through the opening of the stage.
68. These silver tubes are lenses called objective lenses.

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Script Cont.
69. This particular microscope has four objective lenses.
70. On the side of each objective lens is a number.
71. This lens has the number 4.
72. You Decide! What do you think the 4 means?
73. That is right, the 4 means this lens has a magnification of 4 times, also referred to
as 4 power.
74. The smallest objective is sometimes referred to as the low power objective. In this
case, the 10 power objective is the low power objective..
75. And the larger objective is sometimes referred to as the high power objective.
76. This silver circular structure is called the nosepiece. The nosepiece holds the
objective lenses above the stage, and rotates them so different objective lenses
may be used.
77. The nosepiece is attached to the body tube. The body tube separates the
nosepiece from the eyepiece and allows for the passage of light from below.
78. The eyepiece lens on this particular microscope has a magnification of ten.
79. This large circular knob is the coarse adjustment.
80. The coarse adjustment moves the stage in bigger increments to bring the
specimen into focus.
81. It is designed to be used when using the low power objective.
82. The smaller knob is called the fine adjustment and is used when focusing the high
power objective.
83. Graphic Transition – Using the Microscope
84. The microscopes in your science classroom are some of the most expensive and
delicate tools in your school.
85. Microscopes are built to last many years, but only if they are used carefully and
correctly.
86. Before using the microscope create a clean and clear workspace, free of books,
bags, clothing, and food.
87. When carrying the microscope always use two hands.
88. Grasp the arm of the microscope with one hand, and place the other hand under
the base.
89. Place the microscope well back from the edge of the table with the arm toward
you.
90. Plug in the microscope.
91. Using the coarse adjustment, increase the distance between the stage and the
objective lenses.
92. Rotate the nosepiece until the lowest power objective – the shortest lens, clicks
into place and is aligned over the hole in the stage.

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Script Cont.
93. Look through the eyepiece and carefully adjust the diaphragm so the maximum
amount of light is coming through the nosepiece.
94. Obtain a prepared slide from your teacher.
95. Keep in mind that slides are made of glass. If they are dropped even a short
distance they will break.
96. Carefully place the slide on the stage, and position it under or between the stage
clips while positioning the portion of the slide containing the specimen over the
hole in the stage.
97. Once you have positioned the slide, look at the stage from the side.
98. While looking through the eyepiece, very slowly raise the body tube by turning
the coarse adjustment knob until the specimen comes into focus.
99. Let us say you want to get a closer look of the specimen. In other words you
want to increase the magnification by switching to a higher power objective.
100. Once again, look at the stage from the side.
101. Carefully rotate the nosepiece until the high power objective lens clicks into
place. Be very careful the lens does not touch the slide, as it may break the slide
and damage the lens.
102. Turn the fine adjustment a very small amount to bring the specimen in to focus.
103. Graphic Transition- Helpful Hints for the Microscope
104. This is the letter “e” as seen under low power. Notice that it appears upside
down.
105. You Observe! What do you observe through the eyepiece when we move the
slide to the left?
106. As you can see, when the slide is moved to the left, it looks like it is moving to the
right through the eyepiece.
107. This is a strange thing to get used to when working with the compound light
microscope.
108. Images as seen under the microscope appear upside down and backward.
109. Another thing to keep in mind while using the microscope is that the brightest
light, or most amount of light, is not always the best to use.
110. The diaphragm controls the amount of light going through a specimen.
111. Experiment with the control of the diaphragm to see how varying amounts of light
effect your view of the specimen.
112. Quite often, less light creates a greater contrast enabling you to see structures
not visible with large amounts of light.
113. Some microscopes also contain an adjustment controlling the intensity of light.
114. One exciting thing to do with a microscope is to view specimens collected on
your own.

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Script Cont.
115. Your instructor can show you how to collect specimens and to create a wet mount
with a clean slide and a cover slip.
116. Graphic Transition- Summing Up
117. During the past few minutes, we have taken a look at some of the fascinating
aspects of microscopes.
118. We began by discussing some of the features of early microscopes...
119. ...and how they were instrumental in developing early knowledge of microscopic
life.
120. We also talked about some of the different types of microscopes including the
Scanning Electron Microscope,
121. ...and the Transmission Electron Microscope.
122. More specifically, the safe use of the compound light microscope was
demonstrated.
123. The parts of the compound light microscope and their function were also
highlighted.
124. Finally, we pointed out some helpful hints in using the microscope.
125. So the next time you use a microscope in your school science lab, think about
some of the things we discussed during the past few minutes,
126. You just might think about microscopes a little differently.
127. Graphic Transition- Video Quiz
Fill in the correct word to complete the sentence. Good luck and let us get started.

1. Robert Hooke used a microscope to discover _____.

2. An _________ microscope uses a stream of electrons to create an image.
3. This is a ___________ light microscope.
4. _______ are used to magnify a specimen in this microscope.
5. _________ is the ability to make things appear larger.
6. This flat black area is the _______.
7. These silver tubes are __________ lenses.
8. This large knob is the _______ adjustment.
9. Always use ____ hands when carrying a microscope.
10. Images under the microscope appear ________ down and backward.

Answers can be found on page 17.

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The Microscope

Student Assessments and Activities

Assessment Masters:

• Preliminary Assessment

• Video Review

• Post Assessment

Student Activity Masters:

• Parts of the Microscope

• Making a Wet Mount

• Cells Under the Microscope

• Vocabulary of The Microscope

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Answers to Student Assessments

Preliminary Assessment (pgs. 20-21) Video Quiz (p. 22)
1. light 1. cells
2. small 2. electron
3. cells 3. compound
4. lenses 4. lenses
5. compound 5. magnification
6. electron 6. stage
7. multiply 7. objective
8. diaphragm 8. coarse
9. eyepiece 9. two
10. glass 10. upside
11. true
12. false
13. false Post Assessment (pgs. 23-24)
14. true 1. electron
15. false 2. eyepiece
16. false 3. light
17. true 4. diaphragm
18. true 5. multiply
19. false 6. glass
20. false 7. compound
8. cells
Video Review (pg. 22) 9. small
1. The structures that Hooke saw were 10. lenses
cork cells. Hooke is credited with the 11. true
discovery of the cell, which other scientists 12. false
then further studied. 13. true
2. The total magnification is 400x. This is 14. false
computed by multiplying the magnification 15. false
on the lenses. In this case 10 * 40 = 400. 16. true
3. The 4 on the side of the lens means the 17. false
lens has a magnification of four times. 18. true
4. When the slide moves to the left, the “e” 19. false
appeared to be moving to the right. This 20. false
means that the microscope creates an
image that is backwards and upside down
from the actual image.

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Answers to Student Activities

Parts of the Microscope (p. 25) Cells Under the Microscope (p. 28-29)
a) Drawings will vary.
1.Eyepiece b) Drawings will vary
c) The cork cells are rectangular and
2. Body Tube
stiff-looking. They are regularly spaced.
3. Nosepiece
Tell your students these are dead cells.
d) Drawings will vary.
4.Objective Lenses 5. Arm
e) By moving the fine adjustment knob
very, very slowly, you can focus on
6. Stage

different layers of onion cells. You can

7. Diaphragm 8. Coarse Adjustment

9. Fine Adjustment
also see different features of the cells
10. Light Source

11. Base
that occur at different levels.
f) Drawings will vary.
g) Adding a drop of stain to your wet
mount allows you to see more detail
Making a Wet Mount (p. 26-27) within the cell. The stain may have
allowed you to identify the nucleus and
a) It is important to watch from the side as the cell membrane.
you lower the lens because if you are not h) The onion cells contain cytoplasm,
watching, the lens could hit the slide, and a nucleus, and a cell membrane, while
either the slide or the lens can break. the cork cells do not. Both types of cells
b) Drawings will vary. The “e” should have a cell wall, and have similar shape.
appear upside down and backwards. They are both plant cells.
c) When the slide is moved left, it appears i) You can tell that the cork cells were
to move right. When it is moved right, it nonliving because, aside from the cell
appears to move left. wall, no cell structures were visible in
d) When the slide is moved away from the cork cells, and no cytoplasm was
you, it appears to move toward you and visible.
vice versa.
Vocabulary of the Microscope (p. 30)
e) The diaphragm controls the amount of
1. c - magnification
light passing through the slide. By
2. g - base
adjusting the amount of light the contrast
3. e - lens
and clarity of the image can be
4. h - objective lenses
controlled.
5. b - compound light microscope
f) Drawings will vary. Only a small part of
6. i - nosepiece
the “e” will show.
7. d - electron microscope
g) The low power lens has a larger field
8. a - microscope
of view, and the image through the low
9. j - stereo microscope
power lens is much brighter.
10. f - fine adjustment

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Assessment
and Student
Activity
Masters
The Microscope Name

Preliminary Assessment
Directions: Fill in the blank with the correct word. A list of possible answers is provided
at the bottom of the page.

1. Without _________ , a compound light microscope will not function.

2. A microscope allows you to see an image of something that is otherwise too

__________ to see with the naked eye.

3. ________ were discovered using a microscope.

4. A compound microscope uses a series of __________ .

5. In most classroom science labs, you will find a ___________ light microscope.

6. Some of the most sophisticated, expensive microscopes are ____________

microscopes.

7. To find the total magnification of a series of lenses, you must ___________ the
magnification of all the lenses.

8. On a compound light microscope, the ____________ controls the amount of light

passing through the stage.

9. The ___________ is the part of the microscope you look through. It also plays a role
in magnifying the image.

10. Microscope slides are commonly made of __________ .

electron eyepiece
glass multiply
diaphragm compound
small lenses
light cells

©2006
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The Microscope Name

Preliminary Assessment
Directions: Decide whether the statement is true (T) or false (F).

11. Before the invention of the microscope, it was not possible to see T F
cells.

12. Microscopes are generally cheap and easily replaceable. T F

13. A magnifying glass can enlarge an image much more than a T F

compound light microscope.

14. A compound light microscope uses a series of lenses to magnify T F

an object.

15. A lens used to magnify an image is thinner in the middle and T F

thicker at the edges.

16. To compute the total magnification of multiple lenses, you must T F

simply add the magnifying factor of each lens.

17. The surface where you place the slide on a compound light T F
microscope is called the stage.

18. The silver tubes attached to the nosepiece on a compound light T F

microscope are lenses called objective lenses.

19. A low power objective magnifies an object the greatest. T F

20. Microscope slides are almost always made of plastic and don’t T F
break easily.

©2006
21
The Microscope Name

Video Review
Directions: During the course of the program, answer the questions as they are
presented in the video. At the end of the video, answer the Video Quiz questions.

You Decide!
1. What are these structures Hooke saw?

You Compute!
2. What is the total magnification?

You Decide!
3. What do you think the 4 means?

You Observe!
4. What do you observe through the eyepiece when we move the slide to the left?

Video Quiz:
1. Robert Hooke used a microscope to discover ________ .
2. An ___________ microscope uses a stream of electrons to create an image.
3. This is a ____________ light microscope.
4. __________ are used to magnify a specimen in this microscope.
5. _________________ is the ability to make things appear larger.
6. This flat black area is the ________ .
7. These silver tubes are _____________ lenses.
8. This large knob is the _________ adjustment.
9. Always use ______ hands when carrying a microscope.
10. Images under the microscope appear ___________ down and backward.

©2006
22
The Microscope Name

Post Assessment
Directions: Fill in the blank with the correct word. A list of possible answers is provided
at the bottom of the page.

1. Some of the most sophisticated, expensive microscopes are ____________

microscopes.

2. The ___________ is the part of the microscope you look through. It also plays a role
in magnifying the image.

3. Without _________ , a compound light microscope will not function.

4. On a compound light microscope, the ____________ controls the amount of light

passing through the stage.

5. To find the total magnification of a series of lenses, you must ___________ the
magnification of all the lenses.

6. Microscope slides are commonly made of __________ .

7. In most classroom science labs, you will find a ___________ light microscope.

8. ___________ were discovered using a microscope.

9. A microscope allows you to see an image of something that is otherwise too

___________ to see with the naked eye.

10. A compound microscope uses a series of __________ .

eyepiece electron
multiply glass
compound diaphragm
lenses small
cells light

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Post Assessment
Directions: Decide whether the statement is true (T) or false (F).

11. A compound light microscope uses a series of lenses to magnify T F

an object.

12. Microscope slides are almost always made of plastic and don’t T F
break easily.

13. The surface where you place the slide on a compound light T F
microscope is called the stage.

14. A low power objective magnifies an object the greatest. T F

15. Microscopes are generally cheap and easily replaceable. T F

16. The silver tubes attached to the nosepiece on a compound light T F

microscope are lenses called objective lenses.

17. A lens used to magnify an image is thinner in the middle and T F

thicker at the edges.

18. Before the invention of the microscope, it was not possible to see T F
cells.

19. To compute the total magnification of multiple lenses, you must T F

simply add the magnifying factor of each lens.

20. A magnifying glass can enlarge an image much more than a T F

compound light microscope.

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Parts of the Microscope

Background:
The microscope is a highly specialized tool with many different parts. Each piece of the
microscope plays an essential part in the microscope’s function. In your classroom, you
probably will use a compound light microscope. A compound light microscope shines
a beam of light through a thin sample. The image is then magnified by two lenses, the
compound lens and the eyepiece. A compound light microscope can magnify an image
up to 1000 times its original size!
Directions:
Below is an image of a compound light microscope. Label all the parts, being sure to
include: base; arm; light source; eyepiece; compound lenses; coarse adjustment; fine
adjustment; diaphragm; nosepiece; stage; and body tube.

1. _____________

2. _____________

3. _____________

4. _____________ 5. _____________

6. _____________

8. _____________
7. _____________

9. _____________

10. _____________

11. _____________

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Making a Wet Mount

Background:
You’ve probably used a microscope to look at slides before. Microscope slides that
are sealed and preserved are called prepared slides. You can also make your own
temporary slides in the science lab. A temporary slide is called a wet mount, because
the cover slip rests on top of a drop of water. You can only use a wet mount for a short
period of time because it will dry out. In this activity you will learn how to make a wet
mount and practice using the microscope to view slides.

Materials:
Microscope, clean microscope slides, cover slips, a sheet of newspaper, water, a
pipette or dropper, and scissors

Directions:
1. Cut out a lower case “e” from the newspaper. Be sure that the square is no larger
than one centimeter, and that the “e” is in the middle.

2. Place the “e” in the center of a clean microscope slide. Gently drop one drop of
water on top of the square of newsprint using your pipette or dropper. Be careful not to
touch the pipette or dropper to the slide, because it will stick to the paper.

3. Next you will cover the mount with a cover slip. Hold the cover slip between your
thumb and forefinger at a 45º angle, and slowly move it toward one edge of the drop.
When the water touches the cover slip, it will spread to the edge. Carefully lower the
cover slip until it is flat on the newsprint. It should rest on top of the water without
touching the slide. A good wet mount has no bubbles. If you do see some bubbles,
don’t press on the cover slip because the water will be pressed out rather than the
bubbles. If your wet mount has a lot of bubbles, begin again from step 2.

4. Place your wet mount onto the stage of your microscope. Make sure the “e” is
positioned as if you would read it. Use the stage clips to hold the slide in place.

5. Position the low power objective directly over the stage. Turn the microscope on
using the On/Off switch. Watching from the side, turn the coarse adjustment knob until
the lens is only half a centimeter above the slide.

a) Why is it important to watch from the side as you lower the lens?

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Making a Wet Mount cont.

6. Looking into the eyepiece, slowly raise the lens by turning
the coarse adjustment knob until the “e” comes into focus.

b) Draw the letter “e” exactly as it appears through the

microscope.
7. Move the slide to the left. Then move the slide to the right.

c) What happens as you watch through the eyepiece?

d) What happens when you move the slide backward? and forward?

8. Reposition the slide with the “e” in focus and centered on the stage. Change the
diaphragm to each of its settings as you observe the “e.” Adjust it to provide the best
contrast and illumination.

e) What does the diaphragm control?

9. When the “e” is as clear as possible, carefully rotate the nosepiece until the high
power objective clicks into position. Make sure you watch from the side, so that the
lens does not hit the slide and ruin your mount.

10. Using only the fine adjustment knob, focus on the “e.” You can also adjust the
brightness and contrast of the image using the diaphragm. Obtain the best possible
image you can.

f) Draw the image exactly as you see it.

g) Which lens has a larger field of view? Which

is brighter?

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The Microscope Name

Cells Under the Microscope

Background:
Its likely that you already know that all living things are
made up of cells. However, you may never have seen
what a cell looks like up close. In order to see cells, we
must use a microscope. The British scientist Robert
Hooke was the first person to describe the appearance of cells under a microscope.
He looked at a very thin slice of cork- which comes from the dead outer bark of the cork
oak tree. In this activity you will use a microscope to observe cork cells just as Hooke
did, as well as to look closely at the structure of living cells from the skin of an onion.
Materials:
a microscope, clean slides, cover slips, safety goggles or safety glasses, a single edged
razor blade or other sharp tool, pipette or dropper, water, a cork stopper, an onion,
forceps or tweezers, an iodine solution, and paper towels.
Directions:
1. To begin you will cut a thin slice off of the cork. It is absolutely necessary to USE
EXTREME CAUTION when slicing the cork. Before you begin to cut the cork, put on
safety goggles or safety glasses. Place the stopper on a cutting board and hold one
end tightly. Be sure to keep your fingers well away from the end of the cork that you are
cutting. Your slice must be thin enough for light to pass through it.
2. Use the paper-thin cork slice to prepare a wet mount. Drop one drop of water on a
clean slide and place the cork on top of it. Add another small drop of water on top of the
cork, then gently slide a cover slip into place over the top.
3. Using the low power objective on your microscope, look at the thinnest area of the
cork which is probably near the edge of the specimen. Be sure to adjust the diaphragm
for the best contrast.
a) Draw the cork cells as you observe them under low power.

4. Now change to the high power objective on your microscope.

b) Draw the cells as they appear under high power.
Label any cell parts that you recognize.

c) Describe the general shape and appearance of the

cork cells.

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Cells Under the Microscope cont.

5. Now you will examine onion cells. Begin by preparing a clean slide with a drop of
water. Using a 1/2 centimeter square of onion, use the forceps to peel off a single layer
of onion skin. Place the paper-thin piece of onion skin in the drop of water, and then
add a cover slip.

6. Use the low power objective to look at the onion cells through the microscope.
Don’t forget to adjust the diaphragm.
d) Draw the onion cells as they appear under low power.

7. Look at the onion skin under high power. Explore the effect
of changing the focus very, very slowly using the fine adjustment
knob.
e) What do you notice?

8. Stain is a useful tool that helps you to see the cell structures more clearly. Carefully
add one drop of the iodine solution to the edge of the cover slip. Be careful not to get
any stain on your clothing. Holding a small piece of paper towel with forceps, absorb
some of the water on the opposite edge of the cover slip. As you absorb the water,
the stain will be drawn under the cover slip. Look at the stained onion skin under low
power, and then later under the high power objective.
f) Make a diagram of a single stained onion cell.

g) How does the stain change what you see?

h) Compare the cork cells and the onion cells. What differences did you
observe? How were the cells similar?

i) How can you tell that the cork cells were nonliving?

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The Microscope
Vocabulary of The Microscope
____ 1. gfaoaicimnitn ______________
____ 2. saeb ___________
____ 3. seln ___________
____ 4. jtebcvoei nlssee ______________
_____________
____ 5. mucpnood ghitl cspioomrce
______________ ___________
__________________
____ 6. cepsnioee _________________
____ 7. loteencr peimrooccs ___________
_________________
____ 8. srmoeopcic ________________
____ 9. etsoer ermscpiooc
___________ _____________
____ 10. efni saemntjtdu _________
_________________
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Name
a. A tool used in science to magnify tiny
objects.
b. The type of microscope most often
used in a classroom science lab.
c. The process of making an object
appear larger than it actually is.
d. A highly advanced, specialized
microscope that can enlarge objects
more than 100,000 times their original
size.
e. The part of a microscope that actually
magnifies an object.
f. The knob that allows you to focus
the microscope when using high power
objectives.
g. The bottom of a microscope, the part
that rests on the table.
h. Lenses on a compound light
microscope that are attached to the
nosepiece.
i. The part of a microscope that holds
the objective lenses. It is rotated to
change the lenses.
j. A type of microscope used to look at
details of larger objects such as rocks
and flowers.
30