Microscope Lab Class

Eyepiece: The lens the viewer looks through to see the specimen.
The eyepiece
usually contains a 10X or 15X power lens.
Diopter Adjustment: Useful as a means to change focus on one eyepiece so as to

correct for any difference in vision between your two eyes.
Body tube (Head): The body tube connects the eyepiece to the objective lenses.
Arm: The arm connects the body tube to the base of the microscope.
Coarse adjustment: Brings the specimen into general focus.
Fine adjustment: Fine tunes the focus and increases the detail of the specimen.
Nosepiece: A rotating turret that houses the objective lenses. The viewer spins the
nosepiece to select different objective lenses.
Objective lenses: One of the most important parts of a compound microscope, as

they are the lenses closest to the specimen.
A standard microscope has three, four, or five objective lenses that range in power
from 4X to 100X. When focusing the microscope, be careful that the objective lens
doesn’t touch the slide, as it could break the slide and destroy the specimen.
Specimen or slide: The specimen is the object being examined. Most specimens
are mounted on slides, flat rectangles of thin glass.
The specimen is placed on the glass and a cover slip is placed over the specimen.
This allows the slide to be easily inserted or removed from the microscope. It also
allows the specimen to be labeled, transported, and stored without damage.
Stage: The flat platform where the slide is placed.
Stage clips: Metal clips that hold the slide in place.
Stage height adjustment (Stage Control): These knobs move the stage left and
right or up and down.
Aperture: The hole in the middle of the stage that allows light from the illuminator
to reach the specimen.
On/off switch: This switch on the base of the microscope turns the illuminator off
and on.
Illumination: The light source for a microscope. Older microscopes used mirrors to

reflect light from an external source up through the bottom of the stage; however,
most microscopes now use a low-voltage bulb.
Iris diaphragm: Adjusts the amount of light that reaches the specimen.
Condenser: Gathers and focuses light from the illuminator onto the specimen being
viewed.
Base: The base supports the microscope and it’s where illuminator is located.
How Does a Microscope Work?
All of the parts of a microscope work together - The light from the illuminator passes
through the aperture, through the slide, and through the objective lens, where the
image of the specimen is magnified.
The then magnified image continues up through the body tube of the microscope to
the eyepiece, which further magnifies the image the viewer then sees.
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to use and adjust a compound microscope:
1. Turn on the illuminator. When using the dimmer, it is best slowly increase the

light intensity as the lamp heats up quite quickly.
2. Place a slide or specimen on the stage with the sample directly above the
aperture and, if possible, fasten it to the stage with the stage clips. Reminder: A cover
slip is always needed to allow for the best quality image.
3. . Ensure the iris diaphragm is
completely open, allowing the
maximum amount of light to
reach the slide and the
lenses. Caution: Do not use the
iris diaphragm to control the
light, it is to control resolution
and contrast - use the dimmer
instead.
4. Rotate the nosepiece so that the objective lens with the lowest level
of magnification is directly above the sample. Reminder: Using lower
magnifications first helps to select the part of the specimen of interest
and then adjust further.
5. Look through the binocular eyepieces and adjust the iris diaphragm
until the amount of light is satisfactory. More light is better than less
light, but the comfort of the viewer’s eyes should also be taken into
account.
6. Turn the coarse adjustment knob until the specimen comes into
broad focus. Caution: you should not use the coarse focus with a high
magnification objective for fear of the objective making contact with
the slide.
7. Turn the fine adjustment knob until the specimen comes into sharp
focus. Caution: should not take a long time to find focus, otherwise
the high magnification objective could also hit the slide. If you are
having a difficult time to find focus then restart with the lower
magnification objective.
8. The viewer should then be able rotate the nosepiece to higher settings
and bring the sample into more and more detail with a minimal
amount of refocusing.
Some compound microscopes come with what is called a rack stop. A rack stop prevents
the objective lenses from being lowered into the slide.
However, some older microscopes do not have a rack stop, so it is always advisable to
check, just in case. Lowering an objective lens into a slide could easily break the slide
and damage the sample.
In order to move your microscope safely, one hand should be under its base for support
and the other at its arm. Be sure to only switch off the microscope when the dimmer is
set to the lowest intensity and always turn off the lamp before moving the microscope.
So now you know how to use and adjust a compound microscope. Well done. Happy
Viewing!

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Eyepiece: The lens the viewer looks through to see the specimen.

Diopter Adjustment: Useful as a means to change focus on one eyepiece so as to

Coarse adjustment: Brings the specimen into general focus.

Objective lenses: One of the most important parts of a compound microscope, as

Stage: The flat platform where the slide is placed.

Stage clips: Metal clips that hold the slide in place.

Illumination: The light source for a microscope. Older microscopes used mirrors to

Iris diaphragm: Adjusts the amount of light that reaches the specimen.

How Does a Microscope Work?

1. Turn on the illuminator. When using the dimmer, it is best slowly increase the

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