How Can a Microscope Help Us Study Living Things?
Microscope: an instrument that makes things look bigger Biology: the study of living things. Some living
things are so small we can’t see them with the naked eye alone. Many of these are one celled organisms
called PROTOZOA [pro tuh ZO uh] and BACTERIA. We can see such tiny things with the help of a high-
power microscope. A microscope magnifies, or makes things look bigger. Have you ever used a
magnifying glass? It is a simple microscope. A magnifying glass, or hand lens, is easy to use. It doesn’t
weigh much, and it’s easy to carry. But it doesn’t magnify objects very much. We still cannot see one-
celled plants and animals with a hand lens. A compound microscope is much more powerful than a
simple microscope. Most school microscopes are compound microscope. They can make objects look
100 to 400 times as big as they really are. Some compound microscopes magnify more than a thousand
times. When we say “microscope,” we usually mean a compound microscope. The microscope has many
uses.
If the eyepiece is marked 10x and the objective 10x, then the total magnification is 100x. To find the
total magnification of a microscope, just multiply the two magnifications. Complete the table below by
finding the total magnification for each pair of lenses. III. Handling Microscope. A microscope is a
delicate instrument. Treat it carefully. 1. A student in the figure below is holding the microscope
properly. Can you describe the right way to hold a microscope? Based on the picture below i can
distinguish that this lady is holding a microscope with her one hand around the arm of the device, and
the other hand under the base. And also i can see that the way she hold the microscope it is the most
right and secure to hold it. 2. The boy is wondering what to use to clean the microscope lenses. The lens
tissue has been treated to prevent scratching. What should one use to clean? The proper to clean the
lens with lens paper, like wipe in one direction. Why? Because it is important to know that we should
not use a circular motion. Definitely don't clean the lenses with paper towels, It can be wind up leaving
more lint and dirt of potentially scratching the lens. 3. The girl is focusing a slide and she is moving the
stage up toward the slide. a) What has happened to the slide? I can say the slides staining overcomes
this obstacle and further enhances her experience, so she can observe these microscopic structures in
much greater detail. b) Is this the proper way to focus? I can say no, because we should use only the fine
focus control when the paper way. c) Should you focus by moving stage up or down? I think the focusing
of a specimen is not only moving the stage up and down. There are factors to consider aside from
moving the stage up and down which include the amount of light and the Proper use of objected lenses
applicable. d) What happens to a microscope if place at the edge? I think that if a microscope is place at
the edge object on your slide is in focus for each objective, the distance Between the slide and the
objective lens, the working distance, decreases as the objective magnification increases. e) What should
you do to prevent this from happening? The best way to prevent this to happen is that always clean the
microscope after each use. Clean smudged lenses with lens paper. Avoid applying pressure. With a cloth
as the lenses are very fragile