Microscopy

• All living organisms are made up of cells, which are the basic building blocks of life.

• Cells are too small to see with the naked eye so to observe cells, you need to use a microscope, which magnifies the image.

• The parts of a microscope include the eyepiece, objective lens, stage, coarse focus wheel, fine focus wheel, and light source.

• To view an object down the microscope, the object you observe should be thin enough for light to pass through. You may need to add a stain or dye to make the object easier to see. Samples are usually prepared on a microscope slide.

Steps to use a microscope

1. Place the microscope slide with the object you want to observe on the stage.

2. Select the objective lens with the lowest magnification.

3. Look through the eyepiece and adjust the focus using the coarse focus wheel.

4. Use the fine focus wheel to bring the object into sharp focus.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 with a higher magnification objective lens to see the object in more detail.

6. Draw what you can see, and add labels for any parts you know.

 A light microscope.