Activity No.

1
The Microscope as a Biological Tool

Group Number: 5 Date Performed: September 2, 2021

Members: Que, King Olivfer Enriquez Date Submitted: September 2, 2021
Ramirez, Fernando Jr. Peñaranda
Rabi, Gideon Mark Abejo
A. Identification of the parts of the microscope
Fill in the table below with the parts and function of the compound microscope
below.
 Table 1. Parts of the Compound Light Microscope
Numbered Microscope Part Functions
Structure
1 Head The microscope’s head is
its uppermost section. It’s
a fixed and immovable part
of the microscope that
holds a couple of important
parts, more specifically,
the optical systems of the
microscope. This is where
the eyepiece is located, or
the lens that you use to
look at the specimen
beneath. This eyepiece
extends from the eyepiece,
tube and can be controlled
through the diopter
adjustment. Moreover, the
head also houses the
revolving nosepiece, which
is where the objective
lenses can be found.
2 Ocular Lens (Eyepiece) The eyepiece is the
viewing area of the
microscope. It’s where you
look to see the magnified
image of the specimen you
are analyzing. The
eyepiece is also called the
ocular lens since it’s a type
of lens used for viewing.
This is one of the most
important parts of a
compound microscope
because this ocular lens is
the compounding lens that
re-magnifies the produced
image of the first lens, or
the objective lens. Each
ocular lens typically has a
magnification of 10x to
15x. Although, you will
sometimes find compound
microscopes with a
 variable magnification of
5x to 30x.
3 Diopter Adjustment It’s a small dial located
right below the eyepiece,
and it can be used to
change the focus of either
eyepiece. This is important
if you have an inconsistent
vision between your eyes,
as well as if you’re using a
camera, or if another
person is viewing the
specimen with you.
4 Nose Piece At the lower end of the
head is the revolving
nosepiece, which is a
circular rotating turret with
at least three to five prongs
that hold an objective lens
of varying magnifications
for each prong. This
nosepiece can be adjusted
in such a way that an
objective lens is fully
aligned with the eyepiece
as it clicks into place,
allowing you to view the
specimen through the lens
you have selected.
5 Objective Lens The objective lens is the
primary optical lens of any
type of light or bright field
microscope. These are
exposed lenses located at
the lower end of the
revolving nosepiece and
can either be forward or
rear-facing. Objective
lenses have various
classifications and
specifications, as well as
different magnifications,
which can range in power
from 4x to 100x. These are
the closest lenses to the
specimen, making them
 one of the most important
parts of the microscope,
but also the most sensitive.
Thus, it’s important to be
careful when using and
cleaning these lenses and
to avoid them coming into
contact with the specimen
or other objects other than
a lens paper.

6 Stage Clip On both edges of the stage

are a set of stage clips,
which are essentially
pieces of metal that can be
lifted lightly to fit the
specimen slide and hold it
securely in place. Not all
compound microscopes
have stage clips. These
can mostly be found on
older models, and
especially on those with a
manual stage since you
will need to adjust the
position of the specimen
slide manually to view
different parts of the
specimen, rather than
adjusting the stage itself.
7 Mechanical Stage Another important part of
the microscope that can be
found on the main body is
the stage or specimen
holder. This is a flat square
platform where a glass
slide containing the
specimen is placed, so it
can be viewed through the
lenses. The stage may
look like a simple square
piece of metal, but it has a
lot of different components
that make loading and
viewing the specimen as
safe and easy as possible.
8 Condenser Above the illuminator and
under the stage is a
condenser, a small device
that collects and focuses
the light from the
illuminator onto the
specimen, for the
maximum amount of light
to reach the specimen in
such a way that the light
isn’t scattered but focused
onto the specimen. It may
feature a condenser focus
knob, which is used to
move the condenser up or
down to better focus the
light.
9 Illuminator (Light Source) The most important part of
a compound microscope
that you’ll find at its base is
the light source or
illuminator, which is what
provides the light that
illuminates the specimen
and lets you see the
magnified image through
the eyepiece. This light
source is essential for all
light or bright field
microscopes. Old
compound microscopes
typically make use of a
mirror that reflects external
light from your
surroundings, while most
microscopes nowadays
use a low voltage halogen
bulb with continuous
variable lighting. Newer
models of compound
microscopes may feature
bright LED light bulbs.
10 Light Switch The microscope base is
also where you can find
the power switch, which is
what turns the illuminator
 on and off. It’s important to
remember to keep the
switch turned off whenever
the microscope is not in
use.
11 Base The bottom section of the
microscope is called the
base, which is primarily
what makes the
microscope stable, upright,
and balanced, and what
enables it to carry its
weight. For this reason, the
base is normally weighted.
It also contains a few
necessary parts that are
essential in the
microscope’s function.
These include the
microscope’s light source
and its adjustment
mechanisms, as well as
the microscope’s main
switch.
12 Brightness Adjustment It adjusts the intensity of
the light passing through
the microscope. This
should be adjusted to a
comfortable level. In this
model, turning it clockwise
makes it brighter, and
turning it counter‐clockwise
makes it darker.
13 Fine Adjustment Knob It is part of the microscope
that is used for focusing
finer details of the
specimen being viewed.
Objectives like lower
power and high power
objectives are used with a
fine adjustment knob for
clearer images in higher
resolution.
14 Coarse Adjustment Knob A rapid control allows for
quick focusing by moving
the objective lens or stage
 up and down. It is used for
initial focusing.
15 Stage Controls These allow you to move
your slide while you are
viewing it, but only if the
slide is properly clipped in
with the stage clips.
Always find where these
are on your microscope
before you start viewing
your slide.
16 Aperture This is a hole on the
microscope stage, through
which the transmitted light
from the source reaches
the stage.
17 Arm This is the part connecting
the base and to the head
and the eyepiece tube to
the base of the
microscope. It gives
support to the head of the
microscope and it is also
used when carrying the
microscope. Some high-
quality microscopes have
an articulated arm with
more than one joint
allowing more movement
of the microscopic head for
better viewing.
 B. Microscope Manipulation

Letter “e” in its actual size and Letter “e” as seen under LPO
position on the slide
100x

Answers:
1. If you will move the slide away from you the image form will move towards you and if
you will move the slide towards you the image form will move away from you, this is
because of the optics of the microscope’s lenses that change the orientation of the image
that the user sees.
2. The image appeared to move oppositely in the direction you will move the slide. This
occurs because microscopes use two sets of lenses to magnify the image.

Letter “e” as seen under HPO

400x
C. Determination of the Total Magnification of the Image
Table 2. Magnification of the image under different objectives
Objective Magnifying Power Magnifying Power The total
the Objectives of the Ocular magnification of
the Image
Scanner 4x 10x 40x
Low Power 10x 10x 100x
Objective
High Power 40x 10x 400x
Objective

D. Field of Vision
Table 3. Area of field vision
VALUES 4x 10x 40x
Diameter in (mm) 4.0 mm (4.45) 2.0 mm (1.78) 0.4 mm (0.45)
Area in square 12.5664 mm^2 3.1416 mm^2 1.25664 mm^2
(mm)

Where 𝜋 = 3.1416 and r = ½ of the diameter of the field of vision/radius

4x = 𝜋𝑟 2
= (3.1416)(2.0 mm)^2
= (3.1416)(4.0 mm^2)
= 12.5664 mm^2
10x = 𝜋𝑟 2
= (3.1416)(1.0 mm)^2
= (3.1416)(1.0 mm^2)
= 3.1416 mm^2
40x = 𝜋𝑟 2
= (3.1416)(0.2 mm)^2
= (3.1416)(0.04 mm^2)
= 0.125664 mm^2
Questions:
1. What other instruments are used by the scientist to observe objects which cannot be
seen by the naked eye?
Besides the microscope, there are other instruments scientists use to observe and
view objects that are unseen by the naked eye whether these objects are very tiny or very
far. These include binoculars, cameras, hand lenses, magnifying glasses, and
telescopes. Instruments such as hand lenses and magnifying glasses are used to
increase the magnification of a small object, they might not be as powerful as a
microscope but they can provide an enlarged image of the object being observed that is
unseen to the eye at certain distances. Instruments like binoculars, cameras, and
telescopes help scientists observe objects that are very far or at a considerable distance
where it is difficult or impossible to see them by only the eye alone. Cameras work like
human eyes through the use of their lenses that can be adjusted to magnify to a certain
degree, binoculars have built-in lenses that can be adjusted similar to the camera to
magnify at a certain distance, and the telescope is similar to the binoculars but is equipped
with more powerful lenses that can magnify objects outside our planet and even outside
our solar system.
2. Opaque objects cannot be viewed through the microscope, why?
Opaque objects cannot be viewed through a microscope because opaque objects
scatter light. In different materials, light does not move in a straight line instead it travels
along an unpredictable and disordered path. Opaque materials absorb the light that
shines on them that's why the ground glass has little to no light pass through it.
Conclusion:
There are plenty of apparatuses that scientists use to observe and view objects in
an observable manner without the use of microscopes, the examples given above are
one of the more simple tools that are available to us for use and help even ordinary people
to observe and view objects that are unseen to the naked eye. Similar to the scientific
method or the scientific process, the microscope, being a tool of science is also subjected
to limitations such that it cannot properly view and observe opaque objects due to its
nature to scatter light particles in a disordered fashion and the tool is dependent on light
to view the specimen being observed.
References:
https://www.microscopeclub.com/parts-of-a-compound-microscope/
https://microbenotes.com/parts-of-a-microscope/
https://quizlet.com/49537496/compound-microscope-parts-flash-cards/
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/bio1/chapter/reading-microscopy/\
https://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/braingames/Optics/OR/DiscoverMore/Opaqu
e.htm
https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/lmexer1.htm
https://sciencing.com/calculate-field-diameter-7876797.html
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-seventh-grade-math/cc-7th-geometry/cc-7th-
area-circumference/e/area_of_a_circle