Name______________________________ Date__________________ Period_______________

Unit Two: Principles of Cell Biology Human Cheek Cell Lab

Task: To look at animal cells under the compound light microscope. Equipment: Slide Cover Slip Tooth Pick Microscop e Vital Stain

Procedure: 1. Obtain all necessary equipment. 2. Properly set up your microscope. Now you are ready to begin preparing your slide. 3. Put a drop of vital stain on your slide. CAUTION: VITAL STAIN WILL STAIN CLOTHING AND SKIN. 4. Gently scrap the inside of your cheek with the flat side of a toothpick. Scrape lightly. 5. Stir the end of the toothpick in the stain and throw the toothpick away. 6. Place the coverslip onto the slide. 7. Place your slide on your microscope. 8. Focus the microscope on low power (Red Ring Objective). Sketch the cell. Label the nucleus, cytoplasm, and cell membrane.
Observations: What did the cell look like at low power? What could you see clearly? What was hard to see?

9. After you have observed the cell at low power, follow the correct technique to move to the highest power (White Ring Objective). Sketch the cell. Label the nucleus, cytoplasm, and cell membrane.
Observations: What did the cell look like at high power? What could you see at high power that you could not see at low power?

10. After you have observed the cell at the highest power, move the iris diaphragm to let more or less light in. What occurs when you let more light in?

What happens when there is less light shining through the objectives?

Analyze: 1. The light microscope used in the lab is not powerful enough to view other organelles in the cheek cell. What parts of the cell were visible?

2. Is the cheek cell a eukaryote or prokaryote? How do you know?

3. Remember that the mouth is the first site of chemical digestion in a human. Your saliva starts the process of breaking down food. What organelle do you think would be numerous inside the cells of your mouth? Why?

4. You observed a cheek cell at both low and high power. Summarize the differences and similarities between observing the cells at the different powers?

5. As an agriculturalist, why do you think it is important to study cells? (Remember as agriculturalists we are in the growing business)