PRACTICAL 1: INTRODUCTION TO MICROSCOPE &

BIOLOGICAL DRAWING
Objectives:
1. To help students practice using the light microscope
2. To recognize cells and structures and translate it into drawing
3. To familiarize the students on how to write a proper scientific report

Introduction:
Microscopes are a powerful tool for examining cells and cell structures.
Drawing is important for a permanent record of what is seen in examining a
specimen. Therefore, it is important to draw what is actually seen (depend on
the resolution). Resolution refers to the ability of a microscope to separate small
objects that are very close together and to see greater detail. Drawing forces us
to observe closely and accurately while photographs are limited to representing
appearance at a single moment in time. Drawing of many different specimens of
the same material can often communicate information much more effectively
than a photograph.

Parts of a Typical Light Microscope:

General Procedures:
1. Remove the cover, plug the microscope in and place the excess cord on
the table (not dangle over the edge).

2. Always start with Low Power.

3. Place the slide on the microscope stage with the specimen directly over
the center of the class circle on the stage (directly over the light). NOTE: If
you wear glasses, take them off, if you see only your eyelashes, move
closer.

4. If, and ONLY if you are on LOW POWER (lower the objective to the lowest
point), focus using the coarse focus knob, then the fine focus knob. The
specimen will be in focus when the LOW POWER objective is
close to the lowest point, so start there and focus by slowly
raising the lens. If you cant get it at all into focus using the
coarse knob, then switch to the fine focus knob.
5. Adjust the Diaphragm as you look through the Eyepiece, and you will
see that MORE detail is visible when you allow in LESS light! Too much
light will give the specimen a washed-out appearance.

6. Once you have found the specimen on Low Power (100x), unless
specifically asked to draw it on low power, center the specimen in your
field of view, then, without changing the focus knobs, switch it to High
Power.

7. Once you have it on High Power remember that you only use the fine
focus knob! The High Power Objective (430x) is very close to the slide.
Use of the coarse focus knob will scratch the lens, and crack the slide.

8. Always end with Low Power.

How to Make a Drawing

1. Drawing materials: All drawing should be done with a clear pencil line. A
soft eraser of good quality is essential.
2. Positioning: Center your diagram on the page. Do not draw in a corner.
This will leave plenty of room for the addition of labels once the diagram is
completed.
3. Size: A drawing should be large enough to easily represent all the details
seen without crowding. Show only what is necessary for an understanding
of the structure. It is time consuming and unnecessary to reproduce
accurately the entire contents in a microscope field.

4. Accuracy: Drawing should be a complete, accurate representation of the

material observed and should communicate the understanding of the
material to the viewer. Proportions should be accurate. Make sure the line
is complete when drawing shapes that indicate an outline.
5. Technique: Use only simple, narrow line. Do not use shading.
6. Labels: Leave a good margin for labels. All parts of diagram must be
labelled accurately. Labelling lines should be drawn with a ruler and should
not cross. Label the drawing with;
A title, which should identify the material (organism, tissues or cells)
Magnification, under which it was observed, or scale to indicate the
size of the object
Name of structures

Questions:
1. Explain the difference between magnification and resolution with respect
to microscope use.
2. Explain why accurate biological drawings are valuable to a scientific
investigation.
3. Match the following terms with the optical property that they describe.

Term

Optical property

Resolution

The distance between the objective

lens and the microscope slide

Contrast

The apparent increase in size of the

object

Working distance

The difference in brightness between

an object and the background

Magnification

The relative clarity of a microscopic

image

HOW TO WRITE A LAB REPORT & REQUIREMENTS

The goal of the lab report, like a scientific paper, is to convey to the reader
why the experiment was done (background) what was done (materials and
methods), what was the outcome (results), the significance of the results
(discussion), and the published sources that assisted your experimentation or
interpretation (references).
The basis for writing a good lab report, like writing a research paper, is an
organized record of the experiments and your results. A lab notebook is the place
where experiments are described in great detail, and the raw data is recorded.
Keeping a detailed lab notebook is a prerequisite. Reports must be original
work. Although experiments may be carried out as a group, each lab report must
be written individually. Plagiarism will result in a grade of zero for the report.

LAB NOTEBOOK
The most important aspect of scientific investigation is keeping track of your
work. There is no point in performing work that will certainly be lost. A good lab
notebook should contain sufficient detail for any other person to be able to
repeat the same experiment and achieve the same results. Reproducibility is
requisite for a phenomenon to become a scientific fact.
Legally, all proprietary rights conflicts are resolved primarily by investigation
of lab notebooks. In the case of industrial labs, notebooks belong to the
laboratory and must include details such as make and lot number of reagents,
date of preparation of solutions, names of persons that prepared them. Each
page of the notebook is numbered, dated, signed by investigator and
countersigned.
LABORATORY NOTEBOOK: Use a single, bound-page notebook, never use
loose notepaper. Always include experiment date and title. Make notes as you go
along. Note everything you use and do, keeping in mind the rule that someone
else should be able to repeat what you did by reading your notes. You may refer
to published protocols/methods, but must note any modifications or specific
conditions. Note details of calculations, such as for solutions or dilution series,
including volumes actually used. Paste all figures, photos, printouts etc. in
notebook. Every observation is important.

LAB REPORT FORMAT

Each section must be included in each report, unless told differently by the lab
instructor.

I. Title
A. Experiment name
B. Experimenter (author) and partners (co-authors)
C. Experiment date(s)
D. Evaluator
E. Submission date

II. Introduction
A. Provides a brief summary of the background and theory pertaining to the
experiment done.
B. Material for the introduction can be found in books, articles, your lab manual
or the internet (but only from reliable sites).
C. Must answer the questions of;

What was known before the experiment was done?

Why was the experiment carried out?
Was a hypothesis being tested? If so, the hypothesis must be specifically
stated

I.Purpose /Objective
Few sentences in order to answer;
why was this experiment performed?

IV.Materials and Methods

A. What materials and reagents were used?
B. What was done step by step in your own words (not copied directly from lab
manual). Diagrams and flow charts are welcome.

V. Results
A. Informing your audience of the purpose of the experiment
In order to measure the pH of X or To ask whether the sample contained
enzyme X
B. State the direct outcome of the experiment or procedure.
note the difference between what you see, what you think you see, and what
you think it means (Moriarty, 1997)

C. Each experiment should answer a simple question

i.e. what do the cells of an algae look like? or what is the concentration of
cells in an unknown sample?). Each answer should be represented by the
results of your experiment both in table or figure and in words. When writing a
description, your audience should be able to use your words to reconstruct what
you observed.
D. The following questions, as suggested by Moriarty (Moriarty, 1997), should be
answered in the result section of any piece of scientific writing
Why did you conduct the experiment?
What did you do?
What did you see?
What does it mean? This point is stated in more detail in the discussion,
but it can
be simply stated (one sentence) in the results.

E. Figures and tables must be included that show the data generated by your
experiment.
Hand drawings and hand written calculations are acceptable, but they must be
neat and labelled.
Tables and figures must be numbered and titled.
Table titles appear at the top, figure titles at the bottom.
Tables: rows and columns are labelled.
Figures: axes are labelled and contain units

VI.Discussion
A. Restate in the first sentence or two the purpose and findings of the
experiment.
B. This section is the explanation of the results section.
C. Include explanations of unpredicted or inconsistent results.
D. Place the results into a setting.
E. Compare and contrast results with existing knowledge.
F. Explain why you think the results mean.
G. Referencing other studies is appropriate.
H. Discussion should give the audience a general conclusion about the results
and answers to the questions posed in the introduction.
I. May refer to future experiments that can answer questions raised by this study.
This is not always appropriate.
What would you do next if you were to continue with this study?
What would you change if you were to do the experiment again?

VII. References

ALL thoughts, data or ideas that are not your own must be referenced. If
something is a generally known fact, it does not need to be referenced. Be very
careful when using websites. Personal websites are not valid references.
The reference must be given in the text with the name of the author and
the year of publication, and the full reference must be provided in the references
section. Example of report with citation in (Richard and Pques, 2000),
demonstrates acceptable methods of referencing others work:
In human diseases, it is common to observe expansions of more than twice the original size.
Such large expansions in yeast and humans could occur by successive rounds of unwinding/reinvasion of the donor sequence by the newly synthesized strand, allowing DNA synthesis to proceed
more than once within the repeats (Pques et al., 1998; Figure 2c). An interesting case of large
contraction of a CAG repeat was described during transmission of a myotonic dystrophy allele. O'Hoy
et al. (1993) reported a large reduction of the number of CAG triplets associated with what they called
a discontinuous gene conversion event. The resulting allele was a patchwork of both maternal and
paternal alleles. Buard and Vergnaud (1994), Debrauwre et al. (1999) and Tamaki et al. (1999) also
found complex recombination events in minisatellites.
References must follow standard format. Examples are given below.

Journal: Author, (year) title. Journal volume (issue), pages.

ex.: Morehouse, S.I., Tung, R.S., Rodriguez, J.-C., Whiting, J.R. and Jones, V.R.
(1993) Statistical evidence for early extinction of reptiles due to the K/T event.
Journal of Paleontology 17(4), 198-209.

Book: Author (year) title, number of pages. Edition number. Edition series, editor.
Issue. Number of volumes. Publisher, city.
ex.: Billoski, T.V. (1992) Introduction to Paleontology, 212 pp. 2 nd ed. Trans. A.
Translator. Series on Paleontology, edited by B.T. Jones, 6. 12 vols. Institutional
Press, New York.

Book with referred Chapter: Author (date) title. In: book editors (Eds), book title,
edition pages. Volume. Number of volumes. Publisher, City.
ex.: Grosjean, F.O. and Schneider, G.A. (1990) Greenhouse hypothesis: Effect on
dinosaur extinction. Trans. M.A. Caterino. In: N.R. Smith and E.D. Perrault (Eds),
Extinction, 3rd ed., pp. 175-189. Vol. 2. 5 vols. Barnes and Ellis, New York.

Website: Author (date) Title of page or article (web site).

ex.: Gutkind, J. S. (2000). Regulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling
networks by G protein-coupled receptors (http://www.stke.org).

References
1. Allan, R. (2007) Senior Biology 1. Student Resource and Activity Manual,
394 pp. 6th ed. Biozone International Ltd.
2. Moriarty, M.F. (1997) Writing science through critical thinking. Jones and
Bartlett Publishers, Inc., London

3. Richard, G.-F., and F. Pques (2000) Mini-and microsatellite expansions: the

recombination connection. EMBO Reports. 1: 122-126.
4. http://www.bio.boun.edu.tr/files/labmanuals/241labmanu_fall07_08.pdf
5. http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/microscope_use.html