IV - Microscopes - Determining Field of View
By Kathy Egbert
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Last updated about 5 years ago
16 Questions
Review: You are given a picture of a microorganism and told it is magnified 100 times
(written 100x). Which of the objective lens on your microscope was used to get
this magnification?
Review: You are given a picture of a microorganism and told it is magnified 100 times
(written 100x). Which of the objective lens on your microscope was used to get
this magnification?
Total magnification is calculated by multiplying the ocular lens (10x)
magnification by the magnification of the objective
The area (called Field of View) you can see through the microscope lens gets
smaller and smaller with greater magnification.
Review: Even though you have seen this question before, it is essential that you
understand this principle when viewing specimens under the microscope. The
greatest field of view is at what magnification?
Review: Even though you have seen this question before, it is essential that you
understand this principle when viewing specimens under the microscope. The
greatest field of view is at what magnification?
Here is another image showing how the field of view changes with greater
magnification. Notice that the depth of the field of view also decreases greatly
with an increase in magnification.
Definition of Field of View
Because the microscope measures things that are small, we use a smaller unit of
measurement to make measurements more accurate. The unit of measurement is
called the micrometer. You need to know how to convert millimeters into
micrometers.
To increase accuracy of measuring specimens under the microscope we use the
micrometer unit of measurement.
To increase accuracy of measuring specimens under the microscope we use the
micrometer unit of measurement.
Metric System Review
You will need to convert millimeters (mm) into micrometers
Practice: Given the measurement 3.25 mm, convert this to micrometers.
Practice: Given the measurement 3.25 mm, convert this to micrometers.
multiply 3.25 mm by 1000
Calculating Field of View
You are now ready to begin measuring and calculating the field of view on your
microscope and completing your table. Every microscope can have a slightly
different field of view, so it will be important that you continue using the
same microscope for measuring the field of view in this worksheet.
After lining up a millimeter mark on the ruler on one side of the diameter, two
things can happen:
1) the millimeter marks can frame both sides; just count the number of whole
millimeters (look at column 1 below)
2) the millimeter mark frames one side, but not the other (see column 2 below).
Count the whole mm marks first. Now you have to estimate the amount of area that
remains. Does it look like about 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 or ___? Add this fraction to the
whole number. You need to have the fraction in decimal format (1/2=0.5;
1/4=0.25; 1/3=0.33; 1/2=0.5; 2/3=0.66; 3/4=0.75)
After lining up a millimeter mark on the ruler on one side of the diameter, two
things can happen:
1) the millimeter marks can frame both sides; just count the number of whole
millimeters (look at column 1 below)
2) the millimeter mark frames one side, but not the other (see column 2 below).
Count the whole mm marks first. Now you have to estimate the amount of area that
remains. Does it look like about 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 or ___? Add this fraction to the
whole number. You need to have the fraction in decimal format (1/2=0.5;
1/4=0.25; 1/3=0.33; 1/2=0.5; 2/3=0.66; 3/4=0.75)
Practice Measuring Diameter
Figure A measures 4 mm
Figure A measures 4 mm
Figure B measures almost exactly 5 mm
Figure B measures almost exactly 5 mm
Figure C measures 1.3 mm
Figure C measures 1.3 mm
Table 1. Dimensions of the Field of View
Complete Column 1 (a, b, c) by following the instructions in the above slides
and entering measured mm;
Complete Column 2 (d, e, f) convert the mm in column 1 to micrometers by
multiplying by 1000 (this is the diameter);
Column 3 (g, h, i) - to get the radius you divide the diameter by two, this is
"r" in the equation, use 3.14 for pi and complete the multiplication for area
Box X: complete this calculation by taking the low power field of view (Box b)
and dividing it by 4
Box Y: convert diameter in Box X to micrometers
Box Z: use same information for Column 3 above
Table 1. Dimensions of the Field of View
Complete Column 1 (a, b, c) by following the instructions in the above slides
and entering measured mm;
Complete Column 2 (d, e, f) convert the mm in column 1 to micrometers by
multiplying by 1000 (this is the diameter);
Column 3 (g, h, i) - to get the radius you divide the diameter by two, this is
"r" in the equation, use 3.14 for pi and complete the multiplication for area
Box X: complete this calculation by taking the low power field of view (Box b)
and dividing it by 4
Box Y: convert diameter in Box X to micrometers
Box Z: use same information for Column 3 above
Compare the estimated high power FOV area (Box i) with your calculated high
power FOV area (Box z). Which of the following statements best represents your
results
Compare the estimated high power FOV area (Box i) with your calculated high
power FOV area (Box z). Which of the following statements best represents your
results
Based on your answer to Question 10, how would you rate your skills of measuring
the diameter of your FOV?
Based on your answer to Question 10, how would you rate your skills of measuring
the diameter of your FOV?
You now have the FOV for all three objective lens (4x, 10x, and 40x) on your
microscope because you have recorded them in Table 1, boxes g, h, and i -- Now,
let's put that information to work
Prepare a wet mount from a piece of newsprint that has some color on it. Start
with the scanning, 4x objective and bring your specimen into focus. Observe how
the colors are printed onto the wood fibers that make up the newspaper. Using
the information you've just calculated for FOV, estimate the number of colored
dots that are in one square millimeter. Choose just one of the three FOVs to do
this task. Show your work:
Prepare a wet mount from a piece of newsprint that has some color on it. Start
with the scanning, 4x objective and bring your specimen into focus. Observe how
the colors are printed onto the wood fibers that make up the newspaper. Using
the information you've just calculated for FOV, estimate the number of colored
dots that are in one square millimeter. Choose just one of the three FOVs to do
this task. Show your work:
Another tidbit of knowledge: Like FOV (Field of View), light intensity also
decreases with higher magnification; observe how the light intensity changes in
the schematic below. This is one of the reasons that you may have to change the
amount of light coming in through the diaphragm.
You will now use three different prepared slides from the front table to
practice your skills. Complete a Table for each slide. Specimen #1
You will now use three different prepared slides from the front table to
practice your skills. Complete a Table for each slide. Specimen #1
Repeat with a different slide. Specimen #2
Repeat with a different slide. Specimen #2
Repeat with another different slide. Specimen #3
Repeat with another different slide. Specimen #3
One of those rare opportunities to earn some extra credit. Repeat using a
different slide - Specimen #4
One of those rare opportunities to earn some extra credit. Repeat using a
different slide - Specimen #4