The Microscope
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The Microscope              

1.  Be able to identify the parts of the microscope including: base, light source, stage, condenser, condenser control knob, diaphragm, arm, nosepiece, objectives, coarse adjustment, fine adjustment, and ocular. 

2.  The three most important concepts in microscopy are: magnification, resolution, and  contrast.

3.  Calculate the total magnification of a microscope by multiplying the magnification of the ocular (eyepiece) by the magnification of the objective in use.  For example:  If the eyepiece is 10X and the objective is 25X then 10X times 25X is a total magnification of 250X.

4.  The working distance on a microscope refers to the amount of space between the slide and the objective.  The working distance decreases as you increase the magnification (notice that the higher powered objectives are longer than the lower powered objectives).

5.  The microscope lenses are par-focal.  As you increase the magnification from objective to another, the specimen should remain in relative "partial" focus requiring only slight adjustments.