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3.6: Practicing Microscopy

  • Page ID
    124526
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    Practicing Microscopy

    Practicing with a Wet Mount Slide

    Practice making a wet mount slide and find the length of your human cheek cells.

    1. Place a clear slide in front of you.
    2. Obtain a toothpick and scrape the inside of your cheek with the pointy end of the toothpick. You do not need to scrape too hard, please do not hurt yourself.
    3. Using the toothpick, spread your cheek cells across the center of the slide.
    4. Go to the sink to place one drop of methylene blue on your slide. More than one drop is not needed. If too much methylene blue is added, you may rinse some off by dripping water across the slide using a pipette.
    5. Place a cover-slip over the methylene blue on your slide.
    6. Dispose of your toothpick in the regular trash.
    7. Place your wet mount on the microscope stage. Begin observing the slide at 40x total magnification and go up to 400x total magnification.
    8. Draw what you see at 400x total magnification in the space below.
    9. Once you are done with the slide, please dispose of the slide according to your instructor.

     

    Screenshot 2026-08-18 at 4.40.15 PM.pngCheek cells at ________ total magnification.

     

    10. FOV diameter at 400x = ______________________μm (THIS IS THE VALUE YOU FOUND from page Field of View Question 2!)

    11. Number of cheek cells fit across FOV diameter horizontally = ____________________. (How many can you count?)

    12. Calculation for estimated length of a human cheek cell: (Please use the FOV diameter at 400x above and the numbers of cells you counted. Use the formula for estimating cell length from page Field of View)

    Estimated length of a human cheek cell = FOV diameter at 400x / # of human cheek cells across FOV (show me your calculations below using this formula).

    Screenshot 2026-08-18 at 4.38.46 PM.png

    Practicing with a Prepared Slide

    Practice with a blood smear slide and find the length of the red blood cell.

    1. View the blood smear slide at 400x total magnification.
    2. Follow proper microscope operating procedure.
    3. FOV diameter at 400x = ______________________μm (THIS IS THE VALUE YOU FOUND from page Field of View Question 2!)
    4. Number of red blood cells fit across FOV diameter horizontally = ____________________. (How many can you count?)
    5. Calculation for estimated length of a red blood cell: (Please use the FOV diameter at 400x above and the numbers of cells you counted. Use the formula for estimating cell length from page Field of View)

      Estimated length of a red blood cell = FOV diameter at 400x / # of red blood cells across FOV (show me your calculations below using this formula).

      Screenshot 2026-08-18 at 4.38.46 PM.png



       

    This page titled 3.6: Practicing Microscopy is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Harmony Folse.

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