Microscopic Explorations

Goals:

1.      To use the microscope to observe a variety of everyday items.

2.      To compare the images of everyday materials under low and medium power.

3.      To develop skill in using a light microscope.

4.      To become aware of how different materials can look under magnification.

Background Information: People love to look at things up close. Common materials that are easily visible to the unaided eye may look completely different under the lenses of a microscope. They may even surprise you – and be unrecognizable!

The role of the microscope in human inquiry has been demonstrated countless times in many different fields and is reaffirmed in laboratories all around the world each and every day. In this activity you will gain skill in using a microscope, and you’ll begin the process of “thinking with your eyes,” a necessary component of the scientific process.

Materials:  Microscope, a variety of everyday items: sea salt, sugar, sand, cloth, paper, colored newsprint, paper money, photograph negatives, playing card, velcro

Procedure:

v     Select at least three everyday objects from the collection provided by your teacher.

v     Some items, like the cloth, photograph negatives, and paper, may be placed directly over the stage opening of your microscope. Other items, like the sand, sugar, and salt, should be placed (in very small amounts) on a depression slide to be observed.

v     Using the lab sheet provided, draw two pictures of each of your items – one under low and the other under medium power. (Be sure to record the magnification you are using and label the drawings with the name of the items you are observing.)

Follow-up:

Write an acrostic poem about your microscope experiences using the template provided.

Each line of the acrostic poem should begin with one of the letters of the word MICROSCOPE. Each line should be a complete sentence.

Just for Fun:

Check out the images at this website. http://www.aber.ac.uk/bioimage/image/image.htm