MICROSCOPES
• MAGNIFIES OBJECTS (MAKES OBJECTS LOOK
BIGGER)
• HELP SCIENTISTS STUDY OBJECTS & LIVING
THINGS TOO SMALL TO SEE WITH THE NAKED
EYE
Ocular lens
(Eyepiece)
Body Tube
Nosepiece
Arm
Objectives
Stage
Stage Clips
Coarse Adjustment
Diaphragm
Fine Adjustment
Light
Base
Always carry a microscope with one hand
holding the arm and one hand under the base.
3 Types of Microscopes
• simple microscope has only 1 lens.
• compound microscope has 2 sets of lenses. It can
magnify things 40 - 1000 times larger than they really
are.
• electron microscope can magnify objects up to
300,000 times. They do not use lenses, but use
electrons to enlarge the image.
PARTS OF A MICROSCOPE
1. ocular (lens) eyepiece
• the lens of the microscope that you
look through
2. course adjustment
• the large knob on the microscope
that you turn to bring the object
into focus
3. fine adjustment
• the small knob on the microscope
that brings the image into focus
PARTS OF A MICROSCOPE
4. arm
• the part of the microscope
supporting the body tube
5. body tube
• the part that holds the eyepiece and
the objective lenses.
6. nosepiece
• the part at the bottom of the body
tube that holds the objective lenses
and allows them to be turned
7. high power objective lens
• the lens that magnifies the object
the greatest amount. (usually 40x)
8. Low power (scanner) objective lens
• the lens that magnifies the object
the least amount (usually used to find
the object; magnifies only 3x or 4x)
9. middle power objective lens
• the lens that usually magnifies the
object more than the scanner lens,
but less than the high power lens
(usually 10x to 20x)
10. stage
• the flat part below the
objectives lens where the slide
is placed
11. clip
• the part that holds the slide in
place so it doesn’t move
12. diaphragm
• the part that controls the
amount of light entering the
field of view
13. light source
• the lamp (or mirror) under the
stage that sends light through
the object being viewed.
14. base
• the bottom part that supports
the rest of the microscope
Field of View
• Field of view is the area (circle)
that you see when looking through
the eyepiece
Comparing Powers of Magnification
We can see better details with higher the
powers of magnification, but we cannot
see as much of the image.
What’s my power?
To calculate the power of magnification, multiply the power of the
ocular lens by the power of the objective.
Calculating Magnification
1. Find the power of the lens. It is found on
the side of the lens. Magnification power of
a lens is always identified by the label of x
(10x, 1000x)
2. Multiply the power of the eyepiece by the
power of the objective lens.
3. Examples:
eyepiece obj. lens
10x times 100x
10x times 50x
10x times 40x
When you are done, turn off the
microscope and put up the slides
you used.