A section of almost any material can be
placed on a slide and observed with a
microscope. All you need is the proper
equipment and a little patience, and you’ll
be making slides in no time.
Everything you need for the following
experiments can be found in this kit or
around your home (make sure to ask a
parent first before you borrow any of his or
her items, such as the measuring cup).
Locate the follow items:
• Petroleum jelly
• Wide mouth jar and lid
• A measuring cup
• Paper towels
• A potato, uncooked corn kernels, an
apple, and
other foods
• 3 or 4 paper cups, or any small contain
-
ers which can be discarded after use.
Next, set up your work area: the kitchen
table (make sure to ask a parent for his
or her permission), the desk in your room
or any place where you can work undis-
turbed.
Label 3 of your cups: clean, flush, and
waste. Fill the flush cup with clean wa
-
ter. Next, you will obtain a specimen and
make your first slide.
Want to See Crystals?
Use the measuring cup to measure one or
two ounces of hot (but not boiling) water
and pour it into the clean cup. Slowly add
as much table salt to the water as will dis-
solve. Stir the solution with the stirring rod
(C, Fig. 1) while adding the salt. Use the
needle (B, Fig. 1) to carefully place one or
two drops of the salt solution onto a clean
slide (Fig. 5).
CAUTION: The needle has a very sharp
point. Always use caution while handling
it. Allow the slide to dry. The slide will dry
covered with a white substance. Place the
slide onto the microscope stage. Rotate
the light source of the microscope until it
turns on. Before reading any further, look
through the microscope eyepiece and
write down what you observe.
TIP:
Don’t always assume
that increasing magnification
will produce the best image
for viewing.
Each time you increase in
magnification, the amount
of light decreases, and the
section of the image you are
able to view also decreases.
This is desirable for some
specimens, but not for others.
Experiment observing with
all three objectives for all
specimens until you get a
feel for magnification
Fig. 5: Use the needle to
place a drop of water on a
lean slide.
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