microscopy 1.1.5

• we need microscopes because cells are too small to see with the naked eye
• x 4 objective lens = 40 magnification
• image size = actual size x magnification
• resolution is the ability to distinguish between 2 separate points
• 1 millimetre is 0.001 metre
• 1 metre is 1000 milimetres
• 1 millimetre is 1000 micrometers
• 1 micrometer is 0.001 millimetres
• 1 nanometre is 0.001 micrometres
• 1 micrometre is 1000 nanometres
• 1000 millimetres is 1 metre
• if a microscope has a higher resolving power, the image would look clearer and would show more detail it would be crisper and less blurred
• light microscopes use light and lenses to form an image of a specimen and magnify it, they let us see individual cells and large subcellular structures, like nuclei
• electron microscopes use electrons instead of light to form an image. they have a much higher magnification than light microscopes, they also have a higher resolution
• the microscopy techniques we can use have developed over the years, as technology and knowledge have improved
• electron microscopes let us see much smaller things in more detail, like the internal structure of mitochondria and chloroplasts, they even let us see smaller things like ribosomes and plasmids
• Magnification is the ability to make small objects seem larger, such as making a microscopic organism visible. Resolution is the ability to distinguish two objects from each other
• light microscopes however, are much cheaper
• electron microscopes cannot be used to view living things
• the microscopy techniques we can use have developed over the years as the technology and knowledge have improved
• light microscopes use light and lenses to form an image of a specimen and magnify it
• light microscopes let us see individual cells and large subcellular organisms such as nuclei
• electron microscopes let us see smaller things in a much finer detail, like the internal structure of mitochondria and chloroplasts
• electron microscopes even let us see smaller things like ribosomes and plasmids
• electron microscopes have allowed us to study cells in a much finer detail and has enabled biologists to see and understand more sub-cellular structures
• magnification = image size / actual size