Exercise 1

The Microscope

1. Label the parts of the microscope.

A. Coarse adjustment knob

B. Fine adjustment knob
C. Revolving nosepiece
D. Body tube
E. Base
F. Eyepiece
G. Objective lens
H. Stage
I. Diaphragm
J. Mirror / Light source
K. Condenser

2. Give the functions of the following parts of microscope.

1. Mirror
- The mirror is mounted on a swiveling support, adjusted to reflect natural light
or light from an artificial source in the desired direction.
2. Condenser
 - This serves to gather wavefronts from the microscope light source and
concentrate them into a cone of light that illuminates the specimen with uniform
intensity over the entire view field.
3. Diaphragm
- It controls the amount and shape of the light that travels through the condenser
lens and eventually passes through the specimen by expanding and contracting
the diaphragm blades that resemble the iris of an eye.

4. Coarse adjustment knob

It should only be used in the scanning objective lens because it moves the stage
up and down in bigger increments and brings it closer to the lens faster, bringing
it into focus.

5. Fine adjustment knob

- It is used for focusing the image with the medium- and high-power objectives
and sharpens the image.

6. Body tube
- It separates the eyepiece and the nosepiece and blocks stray light from entering.

7. Objective lenses
- The objective lens gathers light from the specimen, which is focused to produce
the real image that is seen on the ocular lens. Objective lenses are the most
complex part of the microscope due to their multi-element design. It is this
complexity that makes the objectives the most important components of the
device.

8. Low power objectives

- It allows to quickly scan a large area of the specimen, and to locate those areas
which need closer study with a high power objective.
 9. High power objectives
- It is use to observe fine details within the specimen with 400x total
magnification.

10. Oil immersion

- It increases the resolving power of the microscope by replacing the air gap
between the immersion objective lens and cover glass with a high refractive
index medium and reducing light refraction.

11. Eyepiece
- This is the part used to look through the microscope. Its standard magnification
is 10x with an optional eyepiece having magnifications from 5X to 30X.

3. Enumerate the different types of microscopes and their uses.

A. Simple microscope – contains just a single magnifying lens and a few working parts.
Examples of this type of microscope are a magnifying glass and a hand lens.
B. Compound microscope - It can achieve higher levels of magnification than stereo or
other low power microscopes and reduce chromatic aberration. It achieves this through
the use of two or more lenses in the objective and the eyepiece. The objective lens or
objectives located on the nosepiece have a short focal length and are close to the target
specimen where it collects light and focuses the image of the object into the microscope.
C. Bright-field microscope - Common multipurpose microscope for live and preserved
stained specimens, where the specimen is dark, and the field is white that provides fair
cellular detail.
D. Dark-field microscope - Best for observing live, unstained specimens where the
specimen is bright, and the field is black that provides outline of a specimen with reduced
internal cellular detail.
E. Phase-contrast microscope - Used to enhance the contrast of images of transparent and
colorless specimens. It enables visualization of cells and cell components that would be
difficult to see using an ordinary light microscope.
F. Differential-interference microscope - Provides very detailed, highly contrasting, 3D
images of live and unstained specimen by manipulating the light.
G. Fluorescence microscope - is a specially modified compound microscope furnished with
an ultraviolet (UV) radiation source and filters that protect the viewer’s eye from injury
by these dangerous rays.
H. Scanning Confocal Microscopes - use a laser beam of light to scan various depths in the
specimen and deliver a sharp image focusing on just a single plane. This produces an
image that is a high definition “slice” of a sample.
I. Transmission electron microscope - are the method of choice for viewing the detailed
structure of cells and viruses. This microscope produces its image by transmitting
electrons through the specimen.
J. Scanning electron microscopes – It is used to study the topography of materials and has
a resolution of ∼2 nm. An electron probe is scanning over the surface of the material and
these electrons interact with the material. Secondary electrons are emitted from the
surface of the specimen and recorded.