Marie Isabella G.

Labatos
2013-24148
Zoo 10 Lab (2) TF 7:00-10:00
Exercise No. 1
MICROSCOPY
I.
Table 1. Microscope Parts and Function
Parts

Function

Arm

It supports the tube of the microscope and connects to the base of

the microscope.

Base

Provides basal support for the microscope

Eyepiece or Ocular
Lens

Contains a magnifying lens that focuses the image from the

objective into your eye. Its lens contains a magnification of 10X or
15X.

Body tube

Connects the eyepiece to the objective lenses.

Revolving
Nosepiece

Also known as Turret. This is the part that holds two or more
objective lenses and can be rotated to easily change power.

Stage

A flat platform used for placing the slides for observation.

Fine Adjustment
Knob

Small, round knob on the side of the microscope used to fine-tune

the focus of your specimen. Also, used to small adjustment in focus.

Coarse Adjustment
Knob

Large, round knob on the side of the microscope used for focusing
the specimen. Also, used to make large changes in focus.

Stage Clips

Used to keep the slide in place.

Iris Diaphragm

Controls the amount of light passing through the aperture.

Mirror/Light Source

Sends light up through the diaphragm and through the slide for
viewing.

Objective lenses

It is used to increase the magnification of the specimen. (It may have

a scanner, low, high oil immersion objectives)

Aperture

Is the hole in the stage through which the base (transmitted) light
reaches the stage.

Condenser

The main function of condenser lens is focussing the light on the

specimen under observation. It gives a sharper image as compared to
the microscope with no condenser lens.

II.
Figure 1. Parts of a Typical Microscope

Eyepiece
Body
Tube

Revolving
Nosepiece
Objectiv
e Lenses
Apertur
e
Stage
Clips

Condens
er

Arm

Stage

Iris
Diaphragm

Coarse
Adjustment
Knob
Fine

Light
Source

Adjustment
Knob
Base

III.
A. Proper Care of the Microscope
1.

Use both hands when carrying the microscope: one firmly grasping the arm of the
microscope; the other beneath the base. Avoid jarring your microscope.
2. Never touch the lenses. If the lenses become dirty, wipe them gently with lens tissue.
3. If blurred specks appear in the field of view this may be due to lint or smears on the
eyepiece. If the specks move while rotating the eyepiece, the dust is on the eyepiece and
cleaning the outer lens of the eyepiece is in order. If the quality of the image is improved
by changing objective lenses, clean the objective lens with lens paper.
4. Never leave a slide on the microscope when it is not in use.
5. Always remove oil from the oil-immersion objective lens after its use. If by accident oil
should get on either of the lower-power objective lenses, wipe it off immediately with
lens tissue.
6. Keep the stage of the microscope clean and dry..
7. When not in use, store your microscope in its cabinet and covering it with a dust jacket.
Also, wrap the electrical cord around the base.
8. Never force the adjustments. All adjustments should work freely and easily. If anything
does not work correctly, do not attempt to fix it yourself, immediately notify your
instructor.
9. Never allow an objective lens to jam into or even to touch the slide or cover-slip.
10. Never focus downward with the coarse adjustment while you are looking through the
microscope. Always incline your head to the side with eyes parallel to the slide and
watch the objective as you move it closer to the slide. This will prevent you from
smashing the objective into the slide.
11. Never exchange the objective or eyepiece lenses of different microscopes and never
under any circumstances remove the front lenses from objective lenses.
12. Never attempt to carry two microscopes at one time.
B. Proper Use of the Microscope
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.

When moving your microscope, always carry it with both hands.

Turn the revolving nosepiece so that the lowest power objective lens is "clicked" into
position (This is also the shortest objective lens).
Your microscope slide should be prepared with a coverslip or cover glass over the
specimen. This will help protect the objective lenses if they touch the slide. Place the
microscope slide on the stage and fasten it with the stage clips. You can push down on
the back end of the stage clip to open it.
Look at the objective lens and the stage from the side (Figure 2) and turn the coarse
focus knob so that the objective lens moves downward (or the stage, if it moves, goes
upward). Move it as far as it will go without touching the slide!
Now, look through the eyepiece and adjust the illuminator (or mirror) and diaphragm
for the greatest amount of light.

.
6.

Slowly turn the coarse adjustment so that the objective lens goes up (away from the
slide). Continue until the image comes into focus. Use the fine adjustment, if available,
for fine focusing
7. Move the microscope slide around so that the image is in the center of the field of
view and readjust the mirror, illuminator or diaphragm for the clearest image.
8. Now, you should be able to change to the next objective lenses with only minimal use
of the focusing adjustment. Use the fine adjustment, if available. If you cannot focus
on your specimen, repeat steps 4 through 7 with the higher power objective lens in
place. Do not allow the objective lens to touch the slide!
9. The proper way to use a monocular microscope is to look through the eyepiece with
one eye and keep the other eye open.
10. Do not touch the glass part of the lenses with your fingers. Use only special lens paper
to clean the lenses.
11. When finished, raise the tube (or lower the stage), click the low power lens into position
and remove the slide.
12. Always keep your microscope covered when not in use.