Light microscope
Equipment which uses visible light to detect and magnify small objects
Magnification
How much an image appears to have increased in size by
Magnification equation
Magnification = size of image/size of real object
Image size
The size of an object on an image after magnification
Actual size
The actual or real size of an object before magnification
Total magnification
The overall magnification in a light microscope due to the combined magnification of the eyepiece lens and the objective lens
Total magnification equation
Total magnification = eyepiece lens magnification x objective lens magnification
Eyepiece lens
The lens that is closest to the eye when viewing a microscope
Objective lenses
A set of lenses above the stage that can be manually adjusted to provide a higher magnification
Magnification scale
A scale bar on an image that represents the actual size of an object
Graticule
A scale with many divisions that is printed on to the eyepiece lens to measure an object's size
Focusing wheel
A twistable wheel that adjusts the focus of an object by changing the height of the microscope stage
Microscope slide
A thin piece of glass that holds biological specimens to be observed under a microscope
Microscope stage
Where the microscope slide is placed and help in place with stage clips
Field of view
The maximum diameter or area that is visible when looking through a microscope eyepiece
Onion cells
An easily obtainable source of plant cells
Cheek cells
An easily obtainable source of animal cells
Iodine solution
An orange-brown dye that can be used to stain onion cells to make them easily observable
Methylene blue
A blue dye that can be used to stain cheek cells to make them easily observable