Group 6 S11 - 01

LABORATORY REPORT for

GENERAL BIOLOGY

To Be Submitted To:

Ms. Grace Guaves

Members:

Binay, Xavier Dale

Javier, Remus Mori

Liza, Christian Ricardo

Mojares, Rafael Francis Adrien

Ong, Angel Jeanette
Villamor, Ron Jairus
I. Introduction
A compound microscope is an optical instrument consisting of two convex lenses

that have short focal lengths which are used to observe highly magnified images of tiny

objects. On our first experiment, we were tasked to do the following: identify and

manipulate the parts and functions of a compound microscope, compute for the

magnification of the images, and to differentiate the low power objective from the high

power objective in relation to the size of the field of vision, magnification, and resolving

power. According to Rajan Gupta and Rahul Jindal (2010), each part has a specific

function where they all work together. The light coming from the illuminator, source of

light, passes through the hole in the middle of the stage or aperture. It then, goes to the

slide which is the specimen being examined and through the objective lenses where it is

magnified. After the said process, the magnified image continues to the body tube of the

microscope going through the eyepiece, where the viewer looks in order to have a better

view of the specimen. (Gupta & Jindal, 2010) In addition; taking care of the microscope

and its parts is very important especially if you are going to use it. According to Isabel

Torres and Simon Bullock, the microscope should be carried with both hands where the

arm will be grasped by one hand and the other should be placed under the base. Touching

the glass part of the microscope with your fingers is not allowed. Special lens paper

should be used to clean the said part. Finally, keep the microscope covered when it is not

in use. (Torres & Bullock, n.d.) Magnification is referred to as the amount or degree of

visual engagement of an observed object. It is measured in various multiples such as –

2x, 4x, and 10x where it indicates that the object is enlarged twice as big, four times as

big, or 10 times as big. Furthermore; Joe White (2007) said that when it comes to finding

the magnification of the microscopes, it adjusts by combining the eyepiece and the lenses
of the microscopes. The standard eyepiece magnifies 10x, checking the objective lens

can determine the magnification where it is usually printed on the objective’s casing. For

typical laboratory microscopes, the commonly used ones are 4x, 10x, and 40x. To

calculate the total magnification, multiply the eyepiece magnification by the objective lens

magnification. (White, 2007) The low power objective is said to be the most useful lens

for viewing slides because the features needed to observed can be located with the 100X

total magnification this objective provides. As for the high power objective, it is used for

observing fine detail such as the striations in skeletal muscle, the arrangement of

Haversian systems in compact bone, and the types of nerve cells in the retina. According

to Ellen Murphy (2005), changing from low power to higher power causes an increase on

the magnification of a specimen where the light intensity decreases as magnification

increases. She also said that, if the high power objective is activated, it will decrease the

area of the field of view where it will be inversely proportional to the magnification of the

objective lens. (Murphy, 2005) Based from Olympus Scientific Solutions Americas Corp,

the resolving power of an objective lens is measured by its ability to differentiate two lines

or points in an object. The greater the resolving power, the smaller the minimum distance

between two lines or points that can still be distinguished. (Olympus Scientific Solutions

Americas Corp, n.d.)

II. Materials and Procedures
1. Compound Microscope

2. Glass Slide

3. Cover Slip

4. Colored Threads

5. Human Hair

6. Medicine Dropper

7. Transparent Ruler

8. Small Letter “e”

Step 1. Use the Medicine Dropper to drop a small amount of water to the plate

which has the specimen.

Step 2. Use the Cover Slip to cover the specimen in order to if to be secured.

Step 3. Insert the Glass Slide in the Compound Microscope

Step 4. Adjust the the different settings in the microscope in order to see the

different results.

***do the same steps all over again in the different kind of specimens.

We dropped a tiny amount of water

on the chosen specimen.

We placed the cover slip on the

glass slide to secure the specimen.
 We placed the glass slide with the
cover slip on the compound
microscope.

We adjusted the different settings

in the microscope in order for us to
clearly the specimen.

III. Data and Observation

Based from the experiment that we’ve conducted, the microscope is a magnifier that

makes a small particle to be clearly seen. Our group expected that all the given substance

would be the same. The first substance was a paper with a letter e written on it where we

put a drop of water on it then observed it. We used the LPO first, and then we observed

that the letter e was upside down or inverted because we realized that we used a certain

type of magnification creating that kind of result. After that we used the HPO, what we

saw was the closed up version of the “e” where they were dotted points on a curved line.

The next substance was the three colored threads. We used the LPO and we saw all

fibers from the three colored threads, but when we used the HPO, it focused on the yellow

thread respectively. The result of this was also mind-blowing, it is because we thought

that if we use both the LPO and HPO, we should see three straight lines but we saw was

different, we saw fibers that are joined together that formed an intersection of the threads.

After these two experiments, we asked for hair samples or strands from our groupmates,

we got a brown hair and a white hair. We then used the LPO and we saw an image where

the white hair was transparent and the brown hair is completely brown. The HPO’s result
was the same as the one gotten from the LPO, the image just became more magnified.

The results were unexpected because we thought that it will only be thin lines of brown

and white, but it looked more like a tube instead of hair strands due to its shiny and smooth

appearance.

IV. Results and Discussions

Object Image when LPO is used Image when HPO is used

Letter “e” When we used the LPO to The image is still inverted,

view the image, it was but it zoomed to the middle

inverted. part of the “e”.

Hair strand (brown and The brown strand of hair The results are the same,

white) looks solid in color while the the only difference is that

white strand of hair looks the image became more

more transparent. magnified.

Colored Threads All fibers from the colored When the HPO was used,

threads were seen. The the image shown was the

first one to stand out was yellow thread only.

the blue thread followed by

the yellow thread, then by

the red thread.

 Based from the slide with the letter “e”, the image looked inverted when the low

power objective is used. According to Amelia McDoogleburger (2001), the objective lens

in a compound microscope has a very short focal length. Once the light passes through

the specimen, past the objective lens, and past the focal point of the objective lens, the

image to be formed will be inverted. This image is the object that is seen by the eyepiece

lens. The eyepiece lens acts as a simple magnifier where it enlarges the image created

by the objective lens. One example of this can be demonstrated by looking at a printed

version of the letter “e” where the image will be inverted due to the objective lens being

convex. (McDoogleburger, 2001)

People have different colors of hair. Some have brown, some have black, some

even have white due to ageing or stress. According to TrueVision Microscopes (n.d.),

they did an experiment before using the compound microscope where hair strands were

used as well. The appearance of the hair strand determines an individual’s health

condition. If the scales of the hair are closed, it indicates that it is in good condition where

it looks smooth and shiny. It will be determined as unhealthy, if the scales are raised,

knotted, or has split ends. (TrueVision Microscopes, n.d.)

For the colored threads, the one on top is the blue thread followed by the yellow

thread leaving the red one on the bottom. This happened because when you use the low

power objective, the image of the three colored threads can easily be seen. But if the high

power objective is used, the image moved to the left focusing on the yellow thread instead

of the blue and red one.

V. Conclusion
There are many parts of the microscope that have different functions in order for a

person to see small organisms that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Some of the parts

are the coarse and fine adjustment knob which are used to focus on the specimen needed

to be magnified. Another one would be the eyepiece where our eyes are placed in order

to look and observe at a particular specimen, and of course, the objectives where it is

placed or connected to the revolving nosepiece. There are actually 4 types of objectives

where each one has a different magnification. The first one is the scanning objective

which has a 4x magnification; we also have the LPO or low power objective which has a

10x magnification; then we have the HPO or the high power objective which has a 40x

magnification; and the OIO or the oil-immersion objective which has a 100x magnification.

They also differ from their field of vision because the greater the magnification, the shorter

the field of vision. According to Ellen Murphy, under 10x magnification, the field of view is

1.78mm while on a 40x magnification, the field of view is 0.45mm (Ellen Murphy, 2018).

That is why when we used the LPO to see the letter “e”, we are able to see the whole

letter e, while in the HPO, we can only see the hole in the middle of the “e”. The same

goes for when we used the LPO and HPO to see the Hair Strands and the Threads, were

for the LPO we saw the intersection and a little bit of strands of hair and threads, while

for the HPO we only saw the point of intersection. Another difference of the objectives is

for the Resolving Power also known as the resolution or the clarity of the image being

viewed, wherein according to Scientist Michael Davidson, an american research scientist

and microscopist, the greater the magnification the smaller the resolving power (Michael

Davidson, n.d.) because it will be very hard for the microscope to see smaller objects

since the magnification of the objectives is too high, it can also be based on the Numerical
Aperture of each objectives wherein for the LPO, you have a 0.25 NA, While for the HPO,

you have a 1.25 N.A. There is one thing that we can suggest in order for the experiment

or activity to be successful, an example is the use of an electric microscope which already

has a built in light that can be used instead of finding a place where light is present and

we would still have to adjust the mirror in order for the light to be reflected to the diaphragm

to the specimen.

VI. Literature Cited/References

Davidson, M. (n.d.). Resolution. Retrieved at September 9, 2018 from

https://www.microscopyu.com/microscopy-basics/resolution

Gupta, R. & Jindal, R. (2010). Compound Microscope. Retrieved September 8, 2018,

from

http://www.funscience.in/studyzone/Physics/OpticalInstruments/CompoundMicroscope.

php

McDoogleburger, A. (2001). Why Do Compound Microscopes Invert The Images.

Retrieved September 9, 2018, from

https://healthfully.com/do-compound-microscopes-invert-images-5208588.html

Murphy, E. (2018, April). What Happens When You Go From Low Power to High Power

on a Microscope?. Retrieved September 8, 2018, from https://sciencing.com/happens-

power-high-power-microscope-8313319.html

Olympus Scientific Solutions Americas Corp. (n.d.) Resolving Power. Retrieved

September 9, 2018, from

https://www.olympus-ims.com/en/microscope/terms/resolving_power/
Torres, I. & Bullock, S. (n.d.). How To Use a Microscope. Retrieved September 8, 2018,

from

https://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/microscopes4schools/about.php

TrueVision Microscopes. (n.d.). Basic Science Experiments for Students: Looking at your

Body under the Microscope. Retrieved September 9, 2018, from

http://www.truevisionmicroscopes.com/basic-science-experiments-for-students-looking-

at-your-body-under-the-microscope.html

White, J. (2007). What Is Magnification on a Microscope. Retrieved September 8, 2018,

from

https://sciencing.com/magnification-microscope-5049708.html