Use of the microscope

Position the microscope so that you can comfortably look through the ocular. Adjust your chair height if necessary. See that the microscope is plugged into the outlet properly, with very little slack in the cord. Make sure the scanning (4X) power objective is in operating position. The scanning power objective lens magnifies the image by a factor of 4, for a total of 40X. (Total magnificationis the product of the magnifications of each lens being used, that is, the ocular lens at 10X and, in this case, the scanning lens at 4X.) Use of the e slide demonstrates the upside down, reversed image: as you move the slide to the left, the image goes to the right; as you move the slide away from you, the image moves toward you. Also with the e slide you can learn to appreciate the concept offield of view, which lessens as you advance to higher magnifications.