Gen.

Biology

Microscope- used to magnify organisms/objects that are either far away or not
visible to the naked eye.

Function of a microscope is to:

 Enhance- to raise to a higher degree; intensify; magnify.

 Postulates -a fundamental principle.
- suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of (something) as basis for
reasoning, discussion, or belief.
 Specimen- it is a sample of a substance or material for examination.
 Compound Light Microscope- commonly seen in school laboratories.
 PARTS AND FUNCTIONS OF A COMPOUND MICROSCOPE
PARTS FUNCTIONS
 Ocular/Eyepiece 6x, 10x or 15x; It enlarges/magnifies the image that is produced by the
objective lenses.
 Objective Lenses - it gathers light and enhances manification; which can range low-power
objective (4x-10x). high-power objective (40x-60x) and oil- immersion
objection (100x)
 Aperture Its ability to gather light and resolve fine specimen detail at a fixed object
distance.
 Body Tube/ Head Attached to the arm; bears the lenses.
 Revolving This is where the different objective lenses are attached; the viewer rotates
Nosepiece/ this to change the magnification power (Total magnification = Eyepiece *
Objective lenses ).
Nosepiece
 Arm It is a short- curved handle which is used for carrying the microscope.
 Adjustment Knob It is the screw that brings the specimen into focus.
 Coarse Adjustment Focuses the image under low power (usually the bigger knob).
Knob
 Fine Adjustment Sharpens the image under all powers (usually the smaller knob).
knob
 Stage Clip It holds the slide/specimen in place.
 Stage/ Mechanical -It is a flat platform where the slide with the specimen is placed.
Stage - if it is a mechanical stage there would be knobs that would help adjust
the position of the slides so you don’t have to move it manually.
 Stage Controls These are knobs that can move the mechanical stage up or down, then left
or right.
 Diaphragm It is located below the stage; it controls the amount of light that passes
through the microscope.
 Condenser Located immediately below the stage just above the diaphragm; it gathers
and focuses the light from the illumination to the specimen.
 Illuminator Light source of microscope; (older microscopes use mirrors while others use
electric lamps).
 Base Supports the entire microscope;
it is also where the illumination is located
 Light Dimmer/
Brightness Controls the intensity of the illuminator
Adjustment
 Switch It turns the illumination on or off.