7th Science Microscope Lab
Name:__________________
Materials needed: Microscope and Lens paper
Procedure:
A.
Microscopes are wonderful tools to help us look at organisms to tiny to see with the
naked eye. We must learn how to take care of and use this value but EXPENSIVE
tool!
1.
First of all, how do I get it from here to there?
a) ALWAYS CARRY IT WITH TWO HANDS
#1 Why should we carry it with two hands, do you think?
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b) ONE hand under the base and the other hand on the arm keeping the arm
towards you.
c) Always carry it upright.
2.
What do I do with it once I get to my desk?
a) First place the microscope on the table away from the edges. The area
should be flat- do not place the microscope on a book or folders or partly
on and off these.
#2 Why do you think microscopes should be kept level when carried and kept on a
flat surface?
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b) Second, unwrapped the cord and plug-in the microscope. Some of the
microscopes will have a button that needs to be pushed to turn on the
light and others will just come on automatically. The plug-ins on the
wall with the counter may need to be reset if the lights do not come on.
Ask your teacher for help if this is the case!
c) The microscope arm should always be pointed towards you when you
are using a microscope
#3 Why do you think the arm should always be pointed towards you?
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3.
How do I clean my microscope?
a) Ask your teacher for a piece of lens paper. She will demonstrate and
show you what to wipe with the lens paper.
b) The lens paper should only be used once and only one side should be
used. This side should not have touched anything else including your
hands!
c) If it should fall on the floor do not use it!
d) Lens paper should be the only thing that EVER touches the lens of your
microscope.
e) DO NOT EVER USE PAPER TOWELS, KLEENEX, or CLOTHING to
wipe off the stage of your microscope it will scratch the lens.
#4 What would happen if the items in e) or your fingers or eyelashes touch the lenses
of the microscope?
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4.
How does the microscope work? What are the numbers on the lenses and the
eyepiece for?
a) Magnifying power tells you how much larger an object appears under
the lenses of your microscope so in other words the number of times the
larger the lens makes the object appear compared to its real size.
b) Look at your eyepiece. What number is printed there? ________X.
This number tells us how many times larger an object is magnified by
just the eyepiece. So if we were looking at an object with the eyepiece it
would be ________X times larger then if we looked at it without the
eyepiece.
c) Now look at the objectives each of them have a number with an X
behind it. What are they?
_______X ____________X _________________X
These numbers also tell us how much larger an object would appear if we
looked through these alone.
d) A microscope has two lenses which you look through- the eyepiece and
the objective and they both magnify the object. So to find the
magnification power of your microscope you need to use the following
formula to tell you how many times larger the object will appear under
the microscope:
EYEPIECE X OBJECTIVE = Magnification Power
(how many times larger your object appears under the
microscope)
e) Most of our microscopes have 2 different magnification powers and
some have 3 - figure out the magnification powers and put them in the
table below.
Table 1-1 Microscope Magnification Power
Magnification Power
eyepiece
X
Shortest objective
Middle objective
Longest objective
Microscope + shortest
Objective
Microscope + middle
Objective
Microscope + longest
Objective
#5 Which part of the microscope allows you to change the magnification power?
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#6 Which objective has the most magnification power?
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5.
6.
Is there more than one kind of microscope? Yes!
a) Simple- one lens inside
b) Compound- two lenses inside- what we are using in this class
c) Stereo microscope- has eyepieces for both eyes
d) Electron microscope- use electrons and a magnetic field to bend
electrons around the object and can magnify up to 100,000 X!
e) Dissecting microscope- stereo microscope used to take a closer look at
objects to big to fit under a compound microscope- also used for
dissecting. Examples of items it is used for: Looking at tree growth
rings, looking at small creatures like insects or insect larvae
f) Light Microscope- uses light passing through the object- what we are
also using- light source can be a light bulb or a mirror to reflect light
through the object
How should I pack up my microscope?
a) First, always take off the slide and put it away properly.
b) Turn off the light if you have a switch and then unplug your microscope.
c) Carefully wrapped the cord around the base of your microscope.
d) Carefully bring it back to the shelf.