Microscopy

• Light microscopes use light 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.
• Electron microscopes have a higher resolution than light microscopes.
• Resolution is the ability to distinguish between two points, so a higher resolution gives a sharper image.
• magnification = image size / actual size
• In the magnification formula, the image size and the real size should have the same units
• A specimen is 50 μm wide. Calculate the width of the image of the specimen under a magnification of x 100. Give you answer in mm.
• A micrometre (µm) is equal to 0.000001 m
• A nanometre (nm) is equal to 0.000000001 m
• A millimetre (mm) is equal to 0.001 m
• A slide is a strip of clear glass or plastic onto which the specimen is mounted
• If you want to look at a specimen under a light microscope, you need to put it on a microscope slide first.
• Your drawing must take up at least half of the space available
• When drawing observations, there shouldn't be any colouring or shading but should have important features labelled.
• Remember to include a title of what you are observing + the magnification used