Microscopy

• Main parts of light microscope

  • eyepiece lens - magnifies image
  • Objective lens- magnifies the image (three objective lenses)
  • Stage- Supports the slide
  • Clip- holds the slide in place
  • Handle- carry the microscope with
  • Lamp- shines through the slide to see image more easily
  • Focusing knobs- moves stage up and down to focus image
• How to prepare specimen

  1. need a thin slice of specimen
  2. Clean slide and pipette to drop water or mountant on specimen
  3. Tweezers to place specimen on slide
  4. Add stain
  5. Place cover slip
  6. press down cover slip so no air bubbles are trapped under it
• How to view specimen

  1. Clip onto stage
  2. Select lowest powered objective lens
  3. Use coarse adjustment knobs to move the stage below the objective lens
  4. Move stage down so specimen is in focus
  5. Adjust focus with fine adjustment knob till you get clear image
  6. swap to higher powered objective lens and refocus for higher magnification