Simple Steps on How to Use a School Microscope
School days are here once again and while you’re still plainly memorizing terms in your science class, the pressures of using school microscope turn out to be an added pressure. But why will you fear a certain activity that will bring you to a whole new different world? All you need to know is how to use your school microscope and this article can help you with that! So read on!
Since compound microscopes are the commonly used equipment in school, this will be the subject on this discussion. Proper use of the microscope will be all up to the user; or the student in this case, but then again, following proper steps on using it will be beneficial both for the school and the students.
The first step in using the school microscope is to handle it with care! Even proper carrying is needed so as not to break it or scratch the lenses. Both hands are to be used when handling the microscope and precautions are necessary all throughout the different science activities.
Set the microscope on a flat sturdy surface or tabletop ensuring you of a spacious working area. Switch on the light source of the microscope and adjust its disc diaphragm afterwards. Adjust it towards the largest hole diameter to let the great amount of light pass through it. If the microscope has iris diaphragm, you can allow most light by sliding the lever.
Turn the nosepiece to the lowest power objective, usually 4 times for 40 times magnification. A student can easily examine a slide on a low setting since they can have wider field of view.
The next step is to place the slide on the stage. The microscope slide can be clipped either on the mechanical stage or under that stage. Slides work best when prepared for the first time. You can place a strand of thread or colored yarn on the blank slide and put a coverslip on it. Adjust the slide until your specimen is under the objective lens.
You will have to focus your specimen afterwards. Move the larger coarse focus knob slowly to center your sample. You can do this by adjusting the slide control knobs or by gently shoving your specimen with your fingers. You can then adjust the small fine focus knob to clearly focus your sample. To get the best lighting, adjusting the diaphragm will be useful. Initially start with a great amount light and lessen it gradually until you produce a sharp contrast and a clear image of your specimen.
By scanning the slide (at low power) from right to left and top to bottom, you can achieve an outline of your specimen. Turning the microscope at high power, you can now focus the part of the sample that you want to view. If you need a clearer view of the subject, you should rotate the nosepiece to 10 times for 100 times magnification. Carefully refocus and view your specimen. Adjust the lighting again and repeat the procedures until such time that you see a clear view the specimen details necessary for your lab work.
If the microscope you’re handling carries 100 times oil immersion lens, put 1 to 2 drops of immersion oil on the coverslip of the slide. Rotate the objective lens into position and move the stage up slowly until the lens reaches the oil.
In between the process of adjusting, you will need to look through the eyepiece to check the focus. The right way to look through the eyepiece is with 1 eye while keeping the other eye open to help you prevent eye strain. There is no problem in closing your other eye though; the key here is for you to see a clear image of the specimen. Always remember that you will see everything backwards and upside down.
When you’re finished, lower the stage or raise the tube, afterwards, click the low power lens into place and detached the microscope slide. Keep the school microscope always covered when not in use because dust can accumulate in the instrument and destroy it.
The place where to use school microscopes is not really a sort of a problem since schools are providing areas for experimentation in science laboratories. More common than not, microscopes are set and are ready to use so plugging and focusing is usually all what the students have to do. There are also guidelines set by the schools in using these sophisticated instruments. But learning and reviewing it again and again can do you no harm. Once you have mastered the basics in using the school microscope, you can extend your studies regarding microscopy and be skilled on it thereafter.
