cheek lining microscope

• Biologie
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

Planning + learning goals

• Refresh memory (5 min)
• How to make the specimen (5 min)
• Practicum: cheek lining (20 min)
• Clean up (5 min)

Learning goals:

• You can make your own specimen and study it with the microscope.
• You can draw a plant cell according to the drawing rules. 

Plant vs animal

microscope steps       

1. put slide under microscope
2. turn the smallest objective (4x)
3. put on the light
4. use large knob to focus
5. turn larger objective (10x)
6. use small knob to focus!!
7. turn objective to 40x
8. use small knob to focus!!

Always be careful with the microscope

- lift on the arm, one hand underneath the base

Cleaning up:

- Turn nosepeice away

- lower the stage

Beginner mistakes

- lowering the platform before switching the objective lens --> not necessary

- sit in front of the microscope --> handier to sit behind it (arm towards yourself) 

- not reading the practical 

- turning on focus knobs while you're not looking trough the microscope --> Why? 

If you don’t see an image, that might be for one of the following reasons:

1 You have not turned the revolving nosepiece properly and the objective lens is not precisely above the specimen. In most

microscopes, the revolving nosepiece clicks into place.

2 The specimen is not placed properly above the opening in the stage.

3 You are using too high a magnification.

4 The diaphragm is not letting any light through.

5 The bulb is not switched on.

Check the above before you ask for help.

the object we put under a microscope

- has to be small

- has to be very thin

- has to be put on a slide

slide preparation

- slide = a small piece of glass

- put the specimen on the glass

- add a drop of water ór colour

- put a coverslip on top

microscope steps

1. put slide under microscope
2. turn the smallest objective (4x)
3. put on the light
4. use large knob to focus
5. turn larger objective (10x)
6. use small knob to focus!!
7. turn objective to 40x
8. use small knob to focus!!

What's good? 
What could be better? 

-------cell membrane

--------------- nucleus

--------------- cell membrane

How to make a cheek lining specimen

What do you need:

• slide, 
• coverslip,
• stirrer,
• blue dye,
• drawing materials.

1. Use the stirrer to scrape along the inside of your cheek

2. Transfer the scraping to the slide and add a drop of the blue dye solution (becareful with your clothes!!)

3. Slowly lower a coverslip on top of the slide in an angle.

Follow the steps (How to do research)

1. Examine the specimen under the microscope at a magnification of 100×.

2.Now examine the specimen at a magnification of 400×.

4. Make a true-to-life drawing of the cell. 

Label the following parts: nucleus – cell membrane –cytoplasm.

(follow the drawing rules! use 'How to do research unit 1' for help.)

Clean up time!

• Follow the steps to correctly put the microscope in its original state. 
• Put your specimen in the container (teacher)
• Put the microscope back on the trolley.
• Write down your name on your paper. 
• Go sit down at your spot!