Name:____________________________________________ Period: _____________ Date: _______________
Safety:
Today you will be using a dye called methylene blue. Read the safety warning on the bottle’s label and describe what steps you should take if you are directly exposed to the dye:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Procedure:
1.
Obtain a glass slide, a cover slip, and a toothpick.
2.
Make a wet mount of your cheek cell.
 Place a drop of tap water onto the center of your slide
 Gently scrape the inside of your mouth with the broad end of a toothpick and transfer the scraping into the drop of water.
 Cover the slide with a cover slip. Be sure to lay the cover slip down at a
45 degree angle to remove air bubbles.
3.
Our cheek cells are nearly transparent. Therefore, we are going to stain them with Methylene blue.
 Place one drop of methylene blue at one edge of the cover slip
 Place a piece of paper towel at the opposite edge to draw the stain under the cover slip.
 Be mindful of your clothes and skin, methylene blue will stain!
4.
Diagram a single cheek cell under 400x and identify the following structures:
nucleus, plasma, membrane, and cytoplasm.

Total Magnification:________

Procedure:
1.
Obtain a glass slide, a cover slip, and a single strand of your hair.
2.
Make a wet mount of your hair cell.
 Place a drop of tap water onto the center of your slide
 Pull out a single strand of your hair and stretch it overtop of the slide.
 Cover the slide with a cover slip. Be sure to lay the cover slip down at a
45 degree angle to remove air bubbles.
 Place one drop of methylene blue at one edge of the cover slip
 Place a piece of paper towel at the opposite edge to draw the stain under the cover slip.
 Be mindful of your clothes and skin, methylene blue will stain!
3.
Diagram a single strand of your hair cell under 400x and identify the following structures: nucleus, plasma, membrane, and cytoplasm.
Total Magnification:________