Name________________________________

Cell Size & Scale; Scientific Notation

Some cells are visible to the unaided eye
The smallest objects that the unaided human
eye can see are about 0.1 mm long. That
means that under the right conditions, you
might be able to see an amoeba, a human
egg, and a paramecium without using
magnification. A magnifying glass can help
you to see them more clearly, but they will still
look tiny.
Smaller cells are easily visible under a light
microscope. It's even possible to make out structures within the cell, such as the nucleus, cell wall and chloroplasts. Light
microscopes use a system of lenses to magnify an image. The power of a light microscope is limited by the wavelength of
visible light, which is about 500 nm. The most powerful light microscopes can magnify bacteria but not viruses.
To see anything smaller than 500 nm, you will need an electron microscope. Electron microscopes shoot a high-voltage
beam of electrons onto or through an object, which deflects and absorbs some of the electrons. Resolution is still limited
by the wavelength of the electron beam, but this wavelength is much smaller than that of visible light. The most powerful
electron microscopes can resolve molecules and even individual atoms.

Questions:
1. Which microscope is more powerful; the light microscope or electron microscope? Support your answer with
evidence from the text.



2. Rank the following objects from largest to smallest. Use evidence from the text to help you determine object size
: virus, paramecium, cell wall




3. The chart below contains items commonly found in science classroom discussions. The size of each item is listed
in meters. Convert the size in meters from standard form to scientific notation.
Item Standard Form (meters) Scientific notation
Red Blood Cell .000008
Water molecule .000000000275
Lysosome .000001
Grain of salt .0005
Mitochondria .0000008
Ribosome .000000030
Flu Virus .000000130
Carbon atom .000000000340
Human Egg Cell .00013
Skin Cell .00003
Amoeba .0005

4. Rank the objects based on size from largest to smallest.


5. When ranking your objects based on size, did you prefer to use standard form or scientific notation? Explain
why you made that choice.