Microscopy (required practical): Cell biology

• Light microscope


  Equipment which uses visible light to detect and magnify small objects

  
• Magnification


  How much an image appears to have increased in size by

  
• Magnification equation


  Magnification = size of image/size of real object

  
• Image size


  The size of an object on an image after magnification

  
• Actual size


  The actual or real size of an object before magnification

  
• Total magnification


  The overall magnification in a light microscope due to the combined magnification of the eyepiece lens and the objective lens

  
• Total magnification equation


  Total magnification = eyepiece lens magnification x objective lens magnification
• Eyepiece lens


  The lens that is closest to the eye when viewing a microscope

  
• Objective lenses


  A set of lenses above the stage that can be manually adjusted to provide a higher magnification

  
• Magnification scale


  A scale bar on an image that represents the actual size of an object

  
• Graticule

  A scale with many divisions that is printed on to the eyepiece lens to measure an object's size

  
• Focusing wheel


  A twistable wheel that adjusts the focus of an object by changing the height of the microscope stage

  
• Microscope slide


  A thin piece of glass that holds biological specimens to be observed under a microscope

  
• Microscope stage


  Where the microscope slide is placed and help in place with stage clips

  
• Field of view


  The maximum diameter or area that is visible when looking through a microscope eyepiece

  
• Onion cells


  An easily obtainable source of plant cells

  
• Cheek cells


  An easily obtainable source of animal cells

  
• Iodine solution


  An orange-brown dye that can be used to stain onion cells to make them easily observable

  
• Methylene blue


  A blue dye that can be used to stain cheek cells to make them easily observable