Name:______

Microscope Mania Lab

In this lab, you will rotate with your group through 8 different stations. You will work together to complete the tasks at each table. If you should finish early, work on the Conclusion Questions!

Station 1: Mystery Pictures

Name:______

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Name:______

Station 2- The Letter E

INSTRUCTIONS: Drawings should be done in pencil. The circles represent the field of view.

Always remember to record the total magnification of each drawing.

  1. B.

Low Mag:______Med. Mag:______

C.

High Mag:______

Station 3 – Select-A-Slide

1. Read the station card to answer these questions:

a. What should youalways do before viewing a slide? ______

b. Which objective provides the highest magnification - short, medium, or long?

c. What do you need to be careful of when raising the stage?

2. View some of the prepared slides and then select one to draw. Draw a view of this specimen at three different powers of magnification – low, medium, and high.

3. How does the view of the specimen change as the power of magnification increases? Write at

least one sentence that summarizes your observations.

Summary Sentence:

Station 4: Pond Water Critters

1. Read the station cards to answer the following questions:

a. What is the name of the piece that is used to cover the drop of water?

b. Which objective should be used first - low, medium, or high power?

c. What do you need to do when you are done at this station?

2. After you have viewed a few drops of pond water, draw what you see in the space below. Don’t forget to include the magnification used. Then, use the Pond Water Guide to try to identify things you see. Write at least two sentences to summarize your observations.

Magnification:______

Station 5: Scope Basics

Activity 1: Everyone in the group will have their own set of vocab game cards. Together, match all the words to the definitions. Next, you will be competing against each other to see who can match their words the fastest. Everyone will turn their cards face down on the table, shuffle them around, and start when someone starts the timer. The fastest time wins!

Round / My Time
1
2
3

Who had the fastest time in your group?

Activity 2: Place the labels on the correct parts of the microscope in the picture provided. How fast can you label it?

Station 6: Microscopes Online

Login to the computers at this station and go to to answer the following questions.

1. Who was the first man to make and use a microscope?

2. What was his microscope called?

3. How many microscopes did he create in his lifetime?

4. How can you change the power of a single-lens microscope?

5. How was the first compound microscope different from Leeuwenhoek’s microscope?

6. Where are the two lenses located in a compound microscope used in most classrooms today?

7. What did each of the following scientists discover by using a compound microscope?

Robert Hooke -

Louis Pasteur -

Robert Koch –

Next, go to and answer the following questions.

Magnification Module

1. Select "Apollo Moon Rock" from the pop-up menu. View the rock at each of the different magnifications. Choose three other items from the list and view at the different magnifications.

(a) At which power do you see the greatest detail?

(b) At which power do you see the largest amount of the sample?

(c) At which power do you see the smallest amount of the sample?

2. What do you notice about the image as you increase the magnification?

Station 7: Study Time

Practice labeling the microscope with your group:

Next, go to Quia: and study using the flash cards. Then play the matching game or the memory game. If you have time, play both!

Station 8: Working with Textiles

Purpose: to compare a variety of textile fibers under the microscope.

Materials:textile fibers such as: cotton, wool, silk, polyester, rayon, linen, or nylon; microscope; tweezers; pin

Follow the Procedure on your table.

Observations: Draw what each of your 3 sample fibers looked like under low and high

magnification.

Sample 1: ______

Sample 2:______

Sample 3:______

CONCLUSION QUESTIONS

1. State 2 procedures that should be used to properly handle a light microscope.

2. Explain why the light microscope is also called the compound microscope.

3. Images observed under the light microscope are reversed and inverted.What does this mean?
4. Explain why the specimen must be centered in the field of view on low power before going to high power.
5.Pretend a microscope has a 20 X ocular (eyepiece) and two objectives of 10 X and
43 X, respectively:
a. Calculate the low power magnification of this microscope. Show your work.
b. Calculate the high power magnification of this microscope. Show your work.
6.Using complete sentences, describe how to make a proper wet mount of the letter “e”.
7.What happens to the amount of available light when going from low to high power?

8. Explain what you may have to do to avoid the problems mentioned in question # 7.