Microscopes and Measurement

Biology: Chapter 1.4

 Microscopes as tools
 Compound light microscope
 Produces magnified image by

focusing visible light rays

 Shines light through a specimen

 Two lenses form the image

 Can observe living organisms

 Total Magnification = up to 1000x

Compound Light Microscope Image
Major components of the microscope

 Ocular lens (10x)

 Magnifies image

 Objective lens (4x, 10x, 40x)

 Enlarges specimen

 Stage
 Supports the slide

 Light source
Magnification and Resolution
 Magnification
 Increases an object’s apparent

size
 Resolution
 Shows details clearly
Total Magnification
 Multiply ocular lens (usually 10) times
the objective (4, 10, or 40)
 Example: Total magnification of high
power is 10 (ocular lens) times 40
(objective lens) . Answer = 400x
 What is the total magnification of low
power?
 40x 10x times 4x
 Medium power?
 100x 10x times 10x
 Electron Microscopes
 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
 Scans a narrow beam of electrons back
and forth over the specimen’s surface
 Produces 3-D images of an object’s/

specimen’s surface
 Samples are preserved and dehydrated

before being placed in the microscope

 Cannot view living cells
Scanning Electron Microscope Image
 Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)
 Shine a beam of electrons through a

thin slice of the specimen

 Can reveal great detail inside a cell

 Objects viewed must be extremely thin

(less than 0.1 microns)

 Cannot observe living cells
Transmission Electron Microscope Image