Microscopy Basic Concepts Flashcards
Why did Leewenhoek make so many Microscopes?
Because they were very hard to focus. Once he has a specimen in focus he would craft a new scope to view the next.
What is the limit of the naked eye?
we are unable to see objects that are less than 0.1mm
Define Microbiology.
The study of microorganisms
What is the approximate size of the smallest bacteria?
0.5 micrometer
1 micrometer = 1/1000 mm
can viruses be observes with a compound light microscope?
No. They can be vied with an transmission electron microscope.
They are measured in nano-meters
1 nm = 1/1000 micrometer
What are the three concepts of microscopy?
Magnification, resolving power, contrast.
Define magnification.
The factor by which the image is enlarged
Define resolving power.
the degree to which two adjacent points in a specimen are seen as separate.
Define Contrast.
Determines how well the image stands out against the background.
Why is magnification important.
The whole point of Microscopy is to make images larger so without magnification microscopy would not exist.
Why is resolving power important.
it determines the sharpness of the image. It doesn’t matter how enlarged the image is if it is blurry.
Why is contrast important.
Without contrast you cant see the image.
What is the eyepiece/ocular lens?
the lens through which the object is viewed.
What is the objective lens?
magnifies and projects the image.
How many objective lenses are there on the standard compound light microscope? name them
4 LPO-low power objective MPO-medium power objective HPO-high power objective OIO- Oil immersion objective
