Using a Microscope
Microscopes let you see the tiny world that's invisible to our eyes. Knowing how to use one properly is a crucial lab skill you'll use throughout your science education.
To prepare a slide properly, place your specimen on a microscope slide, add a stain like iodine or methylene blue, and carefully place a cover slip on top. This creates a thin, viewable sample that's just one cell thick.
When viewing your sample, always start with the lowest magnification. Place your slide on the stage, lower it to its lowest position, and focus using the coarse adjustment wheel first, then the fine adjustment for clearer detail.
Quick Tip: Remember the scale conversions: 1mm = 10⁻³m, 1μm = 10⁻⁶m, 1nm = 10⁻⁹m. Each step is 1,000 times smaller than the previous!
Light microscopes use light and lenses for magnification (up to 1000×) and show specimens in colour. Electron microscopes use electron beams for much higher magnification and resolution, though images are not in colour and require specially prepared specimens.