Microscope

The
Microscope
CARING THE MICROSCOPE
1. Keep the microscope clean, dry and free from dust.
2. Carry the microscope with both hands, keeping the one

under the base and one at the arm.
3. Put the microscope down gently on the laboratory table

with its arm facing you. Place it about 2 inches away from
the edge of the table.
4. Never touch lenses with your fingers. Clean the lenses and
all the glass parts only with lens paper. For the metal parts
use tissue paper.
CARING THE MICROSCOPE
5. Do not remove any part unless specifically instructed to do
so.
6. When focusing the image never focus downward with the

coarse adjustment knob unless you are looking at the side of
the body tube otherwise, cracked slides or lenses may result.
7. Tilting of the microscope allows one to do observations while

seating down. This is however, only one when materials
observed do not contain liquids like water.
MAKING A WET MOUNT
• Cut out a small letter “e” from a
newspaper page. Using forceps or
tweezers place it in the center of a glass
slide in an upright position.
• Add a drop of tap water over the
specimen. It will act as a mounting
medium and make clear the image of
the specimen. Position the cover slip at
45 degree with one side touching one
edge of the water on the slide.
• Slowly lower the other edge of the cover
slip until it rests on the water and the
printed letter. Bubbles are perfect
circles you see on your preparation.
Remove or minimize trapped bubbles
by gently tapping the cover slip with the
eraser-end of a pencil. Make the bubble
move towards the edge of the cover
slip.
OBSERVING SPECIMENS
• Put the slide on the stage. Make sure
that the letter is in the center of the hole
in the stage and under the LPO. Hold it
firmly with the stage clips.
• Watching from the side, carefully
lower the body tube until the end of the
LPO almost touches the cover slip.
•Look through the eyepiece. Slowly turn
the coarse adjustment upwards to raise
the objective until the letter “ e “
appears. Continue until you see the
letter clearly. This would indicate that
you have focused it already.
•Look through the microscope again.
Slowly move the slide to the right, then
to left.
• Move the slide to the center. To shift to
the HPO, raise the body tube first.
Looking from the side turn the revolving
nosepiece to put the HPO in place.
Then, using the fine adjustment slowly
lower the objective till it almost touches
the cover slip. Looking through the
eyepiece, turn the fine adjustment until
you see the clearest image.
• Look through the eyepiece again.
Then, shift to the LPO, and scanner
carefully observing the image of the
letter.
• Examine the numbers indicated on the
eyepiece scanner.
• After using the microscope, lift the stage
clips to remove the slide from the stage.
Wash and wipe or air dry the slide and
cover slip. Keep them in their proper
places. Dispose trash or other materials
properly.
Every after use of the microscope, here are
steps to follow in preparing it for storage:
• Turn the revolving nosepiece until the
LPO is in place.
• Lower down the body tube so that the
end o the objective is approximately 1
cm above the stage.
• Position the clips so that they do not
extend beyond the sides of the stage.
• Rotate the diaphragm until the smallest
opening is in position.
• Let the mirror stand on its edge with the
concave side facing the user to protect
it from dust.
• Some microscope boxes have a socket
for the eyepiece. In this case, remove
the eyepiece from the body tube and
place it in the socket.
• Put back the microscope’s plastic cover.
If the original plastic cover has been lost
or destroyed, use any clean plastic bag
big enough to cover the microscope.
• Carry the microscope as described in
Step 1 of Procedure A. Put it back in its
case or storage cabinet or return it to
your teacher.
Here are some practices to take care of
the microscope for an efficient and
longer use:
• Check the microscope before and after

use. Report any missing or damaged
part to your teacher.
• Use a clean tissue paper, soft cloth like
old t-shirt to clean the mechanical parts
of the microscope.
• Prevent liquids, especially acids and
alcohol from spilling on any part of the
microscope. Always use a cover slip in
observing wet mounts.
• Check for moisture (such as from
condensation of human breath) in the
eyepiece. This may happen due to
prolonged observation of specimens.
Wipe with lens paper.
• Avoid tilting the microscope while
observing wet mounts. Water might flow
into the mechanical parts of the
microscope causing them to rust. Select
a chair with suitable height so that both
forearms can be rested on the table
during observation.
• Never store the microscopes in a
chemical laboratory or any place where
there are corrosive fumes. Make sure
there are silica gel packs inside
microscope boxes or storage cabinet to
absorb moisture.
• Supports the microscope
Base
• Used to support the microscope
when carried. Holds the body tube,
nose piece and objective lenses
Arm
• Reflects light into the condenser
Mirror
• Holds the condenser and the
diaphragm. It maybe raised or
lowered with the substage
adjustment knob.
substage
• controls the amount of light on the
slide/specimen.
diaphragm
• Supports the slide/specimen
.
stage
• These 2 clips hold the
slide/specimen in place on the
stage.
Stage clips
• Lenses increase magnification
(usually from 10x to 40x)
.
objectives
• holds the objective lenses and can
be turned to increase the
magnification
Revolving nosepiece
.
• holds the objective lenses and the
ocular lens at the proper distance
.
Body tube
• Magnifies the specimen image
Eyepiece/ocular
• Moves the stage up and down
(quickly) for focusing your image.
This knob moves the stage
SLIGHTLY to sharpen the image
Adjustment knobs
• coarse
• fine
TEST I
DIRECTIONS: Label the parts correctly. (1-13)

TEST II
DIRECTIONS: Give the function of these selected parts.
14. Arm
15. Stage
TEST III
Solve the magnification.

(16-20)
If your ocular is 5x and your objective is 40x what is the

total magnification of your image?
ASSIGNMENT:
Study about Investigating

Plant Cells
THANK YOU!
- TEACHER ROBERT JAY

Microscope

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The

2. Carry the microscope with both hands, keeping the one

3. Put the microscope down gently on the laboratory table

6. When focusing the image never focus downward with the

7. Tilting of the microscope allows one to do observations while

• Check the microscope before and after

DIRECTIONS: Label the parts correctly. (1-13)

DIRECTIONS: Give the function of these selected parts.

Solve the magnification.

If your ocular is 5x and your objective is 40x what is the

Study about Investigating

- TEACHER ROBERT JAY

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