WEEKLY LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEETS

Science 7, Quarter 2, Week 2

Name: _______________________________________________ Section: ______________________

MICROSCOPE FOCUSING

Learning Objective

Focus specimens using the compound microscope. (S7LT-IIb-2)

Sub-tasks:

1. Describe proper handling and manipulation of the compound microscope;

2. Compare images seen with the naked eye and using LPO/HPO of the compound
microscope; and
3. Compute image magnification using LPO, HPO and OIO.

Key Concepts

HOW TO USE A COMPOUND MICROSCOPE

1. Familiarization: First, familiarize yourself with all the parts of a

microscope so that you can easily move from one part to another
during operation.

2. Moving and Placement: Always carry your microscope in both

hands. Grasp the arm with one hand and place the other hand under
the base for support. Always place the microscope on a level and
stable surface.

3. Slide Preparation: Microscope slides should always be prepared

with a cover slip or cover glass over the specimen. This will help
protect the objective lenses if they touch the slide. To hold the
slide on the stage, fasten it with the stage clips. You can push
down on the back end of the stage clip to open it.

4. Focusing the Microscope:

a. Start by turning the revolving nosepiece so that the lowest

power objective lens is "clicked" into position. The lowest
power objective is the shortest one. This objective is the
easiest to focus and center the image in the field of view.
b. While looking at the objective lens and the stage from the side, turn the coarse
adjustment knob so that the stage moves upward toward the objectives. Move it as far as
it will go without touching the slide.
c. Now, look through the eyepiece and adjust the mirror and diaphragm until you attain the
maximum, comfortable level of light.
d. Slowly turn the coarse adjustment so that the stage moves down (away from the slide).
Continue until the image comes into broad focus. Then, turn the fine adjustment knob, as
necessary, for perfect focus.
e. Move the microscope slide until the image is in the center of the field of view. Then,
readjust the mirror or diaphragm in order to attain the clearest image.
f. Once you have attained a clear image, you should be able to change to a higher power
objective lens with only minimal use of the focusing adjustment. If you cannot focus on
your specimen, repeat the above steps and work from objective to objective until the
higher power objective lens is in place.
General Advice: When using a compound microscope, the correct technique is to look through
the eyepiece with one eye and keep the other eye open to avoid eye. When you view a specimen
through a microscope, you are viewing an image through multiple lenses. As a result, the image
is upside down and back-to-front. So when you move the slide to the right, the image moves to
the left and vice versa

5. Care & Maintenance of Your Microscope:

a. When finished viewing, lower the stage, click the low power lens into position and remove
the slide.
b. Avoid touching the glass part of the lenses with your fingers. Use only special lens paper
to clean the lenses.
c. Cover the microscope and place it inside the box to protect from dust.
Source: https://www.microscope.com/how-to-use-a-compound-microscope/

Exercises / Activities

Activity 1: Let’s Go Up

What you need: ball pen/pencil, paper, and ruler

What to do: On your paper, draw a ladder with 12 levels similar to the one below. Then,
arrange the following steps in proper order by writing the letter on each level to
climb the ladder. The first one has been done for you.

Image from: https://pngtree.com/so/climbing-stairs

A. Clean the microscope by wiping B. Prepare your slide with

it with tissue paper or clean cloth. specimen.

C. Place the compound microscope D. Click the Scanning Objective

on a flat surface near a light source into place by rotating the
source. nosepiece.

E. Look through the eyepiece if a F. Mount the slide on the stage.

bright light can be seen. Move the
body tube up and down for better H. Remove the glass slide and
view. click back to Scanner Objective
then lower the body tube.
G. Focus on the specimen using
LPO by turning the coarse
J. Adjust brightness by turning
adjustment.
the mirror and iris diaphragm.
I. Raise the body tube by turning
the coarse adjustment knob. L. Clean the microscope before
returning to its container.
K. Click the HPO into place then
focus using the fine adjustment
knob.
 Activity 2: To See is to Believe

What you need: ball pen/pencil and paper

What to do:
Identify which of the following images is the specimen’s corresponding
microscope image by checking the column before it.

Specimen A B

Ex. Letter “e” 

1. Onion cells
(bulb)

2. Cheek cells

3. “Bangka-
bangkaan”
leaf
epidermis

4. Red blood
cells

5. Amoeba

Images from: http://www.microbehunter.com/, https://sciencemythos.weebly.com/, https://www.reference.com/,

http://clickerquestions.pbworks.com/, https://www.britannica.com/, https://www.pinterest.ph/, https://www.studyblue.com/,
https://www.livescience.com/, https://www.sciencenews.org/, http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/
 Activity 3: Blow it Up

What you need: ball pen/pencil, paper, and ruler

What to do: Calculate the Total Magnification of images under Scanner Objective (5X),
Low Power Objective – LPO (10X), High Power Objective – HPO (40X) and Oil
Immersion Objective – OIO (100X) by multiplying with the given Eyepiece
magnifying power.

Eyepiece Scanner (5X) LPO (10X) HPO (40X0 OIO (100X)

Example: 5X 25X 50X 200X 500X
4X
10X
15X

Reflection

Directions: Read the question below and answer it based on the provided rubric.

How can the microscope help scientists to develop medicine/vaccines for Covid 19?

Rubric

5 4 3
Content and Very informative and Gives some new
Somewhat informative
Organization of Ideas well-organized information but
and organized
poorly organized
Few spelling and A number of spelling,
Grammar, Usage & Virtually no spelling,
punctuation errors, punctuation or
Mechanics punctuation or
minor grammatical grammatical errors
grammatical errors
errors

Prepared by:

CRISTINA O. MONGADO
Subject Teacher
ANSWER KEY

Activity 1 : C A D E J B F G K I H L

Activity 2 : 1. B
2. A
3. A
4. B
5. B

Activity 3

Eyepiece Scanner (5X) LPO (10X) HPO (40X) OIO (100X)

Example: 5X 25X 50X 200X 500X
4X 20X 40X 160X 400X
10X 50X 100X 400X 1000X
15X 75X 150X 600X 1500X

Prepared by:

CRISTINA O. MONGADO
Subject Teacher