Microscopy

-How to handle a microscope

-How to focus on a specimen
-How to calculate scale and drawing size
 Rules of the microscope

1. ALWAYS carry with two hands

2. Store the microscope on the LOWEST power objective
lens
3. Clean with lens paper
4. NEVER use the coarse adjust knob on anything but
lowest magnification
Microscopes
•Allow us to see TINY structures only a few
micrometers long (small scale objects)
•A micro-meter is one millionth of a meter… or one
thousandth of a millimeter

If you have a specimen that is 2.4 mm long, how

many micrometers long is it?
 Microscope Calculations
Magnification = power of ocular x power of
objective

Low power = 4x
Medium power = 10x
High power = 40x

(Ocular is typically 10x magnification)

 Calculating Magnification
If the ocular lens magnifies 10 x, what is the total
magnification under the microscope if you use the

a) 4x objective? _________
b) 10x objective? _________
c) 40x objective? _________

How do you calculate total microscope magnification?

 Estimating the Size of an Object
Field of View is a measurement of the actual diameter
of the circular area visible through a lens

Low power = 4.0 mm

Medium power = 1.6 mm
High power = 0.40 mm

What is the relationship between magnification and

field of view?
If you know the size of the field of view and how many
objects fit across that field of view, you can calculate
the size of one of the objects:

Size of object = field of view

fit number
 Focusing a Specimen
1. Make sure the stage is lowered all the way, place
slide on the stage
2. Focus the specimen on the LOWEST objective
power with the coarse and then fine focus
3. NEVER TOUCH THE COARSE FOCUS AGAIN
4. Raise the magnification power, adjust ONLY with
the fine focus
40X magnified
Estimating size
•Know your field of view
•Look at ONE specimen on your slide
•How much of your field of view does it take up?
1/5? (fit # = 5)

•If you specimen is 1/5 the field of view, and your

field of view is 1.6 mm wide (medium power)
•How big is your specimen?
Scale of diagram/drawing

Scale = drawing size

actual size
Note: Measure consistently, comparing the same
features under the microscope as in your drawing.
Also, same units!!
 Estimating the Size of A Drawing
You will draw/diagram specimens you see under the
microscope

There are rules for making a formal biological drawing

Once you have drawn your specimen, you must record

on your drawing the scale (magnification) of the
drawing
Observing a specimen - diagram
1. Select ONE specimen to draw
2. Draw nice & Big
3. NO shading & NO field of view circle
4. Line labels up on the right
5. Write the title at the bottom
6. In the bottom left corner, write the magnification of
the microscope, and the total magnification of the
drawing
Example:
Sarah makes a drawing of her bacterium and
measures it to be 5.6 mm across. Five bacteria
will fit across her field of view when she is
viewing it under high power. Calculate the actual
size and scale of her drawing.