What To See Under A Microscope?

ordinary things you should look at under a microscope

looking at everyday and ordinary things under a microscope can change the way you look at the world around you. if you don’t know where to start, or want some new ideas of what to look at, check out these short video tutorials below.

• soap bubbles (use soapy water), bread mold or the black ones found on the walls, drop of pond water, some backyard dirt suspended in water, etc.
• incandescent light bulb that’s burned out, break the bulb and put the filament on there and see it up close.
• your own saliva is quite intruiging.
• a swab of the bottom of the cat box, sink from a fallen apple in my side yard, the tree blight going around my neck of the woods.
• used bathwater and ear wax, lol. it’s all true biology though so if you can stomach it, why not?
• the only other thing that came to mind is dryer lint but it’s not nearly as exciting as the ideas you covered:).

pond water and microbes

• dark field patch stop , there is a whole world of critters in there, swimming frantixally
• some people keep jars of water with microbes. you need to be careful about pathogenic microbes, though.
• finally i got to see some microorganisms! i finally achieved what i always wanted as a child lol.
• where can i find microorganisms at home or near home?
• these microscopic beings will be the most beautiful things you will see today...

plant tissue and thin slices

if you have a compound microscope, you are generally limited to looking at things that are translucent like pond water or very thin slices of things that are otherwise opaque. making these thin sections takes some patience and a lot of trial and error but you can see the internal structure and details of things like plants.

• do simple staining on plant tissue that you section as thin as possible with a razor blade.
• i know tomatoes have tricombs and some stuff on their sticky leaves but haven't looked at any yet.
• so let's begin by looking at some plant cells.
• cut a small chunk from your onion.
• be careful with knives.
• ask an adult if you need help.
• peel a thin layer off that chunk and put it on your slide.
• this is what's called the epidermis.
• using a drop of food colouring, stain the layer so you can see the cells.
• pop a cover slip on the slide and then put the slide onto the microscope.
• take a look!
• check out that strong cell wall structure.
• it's solid so that it keeps a plant's shape and structure.

animal cells

but this experiment isn't over. you can look at some animal cells too.

• grab a fresh slide and pop a drop of your food colouring on there.
• take your cotton bud and rub the inside of your cheek.
• told you you'd need a mouth.
• transfer the cheek cells to the slide by rubbing the swab all over it.
• drop the cover slip on the slide and stick it on the microscope.
• go find those animal cells!
• unlike the plant cells, animal cells are soft and fleshy.
• animals don't need cells to keep their structure.
• that's what skeletons are for.

what you will need

• you will need: an onion, a slide and cover slip, a cotton bud, some food colouring, disinfectant (solution), a plastic bag to put the cotton bud in and of course a microscope!
• oh yeah, slide are fairly cheap for compound scopes and you don't need any for a stereo scope.
• like 10 cents or so for a slide and cover?

onion and cheek cell steps

1. step 1 - carefully cut an onion in half (or ask an adult). peel a thin layer of onion (the epidermis) off the cut onion.
2. step 2 - place the layer of onion epidermis carefully on the glass slide, and cover with a cover slip.
3. step 3 - stain the layer of onion with food colouring.
4. step 5 - rub the tip of a new, clean soft-ended cotton bud against the side of your cheek. dip the cotton bud in the disinfectant (solution), and dispose in a sealed plastic bag in the bin.
5. step 6 - stain the slide by rubbing it with a cotton bud dipped in food colouring.
6. step 7 - rub the cotton tip (with your cheek cells on it) against the food colouring.

how to use a microscope

1. move the stage (the flat ledge the slide sits on) down to its lowest position.
2. place the glass slide onto the stage. be careful pushing it under the clips that the cover slide doesn't move or crack.
3. select the lowest power objective lens.
4. turn the coarse focus knob slowly until you are able to see the cells.
5. turn the fine focus knob slowly until the cells are in focus and you can see them clearly.
6. repeat steps 1-5 using the higher power magnification to see the cells in more detail.

compound microscope limits

• to look at a cell close up a microscope needs to be used.
• all living organisms are made up of cells.
• cells are the smallest part of a living organism and are around 0.01 mm - 0.03 mm long.
• you can use a compound microscope to see some of the same things as a stereo microscope but you can only use the lowest power objectives.
• you also need to provide a light source from above.
• i’ve found that an led flashlight works well.

magnification

• to see an object, the eye piece lens and the objective lens magnification are multiplied together to give the total magnification.
• total magnification = eye piece lens magnification × objective lens magnification
• for example: 10 × 20 = 200
• magnification = 200