Microscope Notes
• Microscope – an instrument that produces an enlarged image of an object.
• Biologists use microscopes to study cells, cell parts, and organisms that are too small to be seen with the
naked eye.
• Microscopes magnify and show details of the image.
• Two types of microscopes:
o Light Microscope – light passes through one or more lenses to produce an enlarged image of a
specimen
o Electron Microscope – forms image of a specimen using a beam of electrons rather than light
• Some early microscopes:
• Zacharias Janssen – Dutch spectacle maker who tested several lenses in a tube and discovered that
nearby objects appeared significantly enlarged.
• Robert Hooke – used a microscope to observe a thin slice of cork. The spaces he saw reminded him of
the small rooms where monks lived, so he called them “cells,” which he used to describe the smallest
units of life.
, o He used microscopes with two and three lenses, but they didn’t produce very detailed images.
o Drawings made by Robert Hooke:
• Anton van Leeuwenhoek - Dutch merchant who learned how to grind lenses to make simple
microscopes (have only one lens). These produced clearer and more enlarged images than Hooke’s.
o He is considered “The Father of Microscopy” and built over 500 different microscopes.
o He was the first to discover microorganisms under a microscope by observing a drop of pond
water filled with life. He called them “tiny animalcules.”
o He also saw and studied bacteria and the blood flow through capillaries in the tail of a fish.
o Drawings made by Anton van Leeuwenhoek:
Parts of a Compound Light Microscope:
1. Body tube: Keeps the two sets of lenses a set distance apart.
2. Rotating nosepiece: Allows one to
change between the objective lenses.
3-5. Objective lens: The second set of lenses in a
compound microscope (usually 4x, 10x, 40x).
6. Stage clips: Hold the slide in place.
7. Diaphragm: Adjusts the amount of light
that hits the slide from the light source.
8. Light source: Where light comes from to see image.
9. Ocular lens: The first lens in a compound microscope
(usually 10x).
10. Arm
11. Stage: Where one puts the slide to view.
12. Coarse Adjustment Knob: Moves the stage up and
down very quickly.
13. Fine Adjustment Knob: Moves the stage up and
down very slowly.
14. Base
• Microscope – an instrument that produces an enlarged image of an object.
• Biologists use microscopes to study cells, cell parts, and organisms that are too small to be seen with the
naked eye.
• Microscopes magnify and show details of the image.
• Two types of microscopes:
o Light Microscope – light passes through one or more lenses to produce an enlarged image of a
specimen
o Electron Microscope – forms image of a specimen using a beam of electrons rather than light
• Some early microscopes:
• Zacharias Janssen – Dutch spectacle maker who tested several lenses in a tube and discovered that
nearby objects appeared significantly enlarged.
• Robert Hooke – used a microscope to observe a thin slice of cork. The spaces he saw reminded him of
the small rooms where monks lived, so he called them “cells,” which he used to describe the smallest
units of life.
, o He used microscopes with two and three lenses, but they didn’t produce very detailed images.
o Drawings made by Robert Hooke:
• Anton van Leeuwenhoek - Dutch merchant who learned how to grind lenses to make simple
microscopes (have only one lens). These produced clearer and more enlarged images than Hooke’s.
o He is considered “The Father of Microscopy” and built over 500 different microscopes.
o He was the first to discover microorganisms under a microscope by observing a drop of pond
water filled with life. He called them “tiny animalcules.”
o He also saw and studied bacteria and the blood flow through capillaries in the tail of a fish.
o Drawings made by Anton van Leeuwenhoek:
Parts of a Compound Light Microscope:
1. Body tube: Keeps the two sets of lenses a set distance apart.
2. Rotating nosepiece: Allows one to
change between the objective lenses.
3-5. Objective lens: The second set of lenses in a
compound microscope (usually 4x, 10x, 40x).
6. Stage clips: Hold the slide in place.
7. Diaphragm: Adjusts the amount of light
that hits the slide from the light source.
8. Light source: Where light comes from to see image.
9. Ocular lens: The first lens in a compound microscope
(usually 10x).
10. Arm
11. Stage: Where one puts the slide to view.
12. Coarse Adjustment Knob: Moves the stage up and
down very quickly.
13. Fine Adjustment Knob: Moves the stage up and
down very slowly.
14. Base
