Parts of a microscope

Arm

Large curved piece. Supports the body tube and is attached to the base.

Base

The bottom of the microscope. It is weighted to prevent the microscope from tipping.

Ocular Eyepiece

Contains the lens nearest the eye when looking through the microscope.

Body Tube

The barrel connecting the eye piece and the objective lenses.

Low Power Objective Lens

smallest/shortest power (4x)

Medium Power Objective Lens

Next largest objective after the low power. It has a power of (10x)

High Power Objective Lens

Largest/longest power (40x)

Revolving Nospiece

Located at the end of the body tube, rotating different lenses into place.

Coarse Adjustment Knob

Larger wheel on the body tube. Moves the body tube up and down.

Fine Adjustment Knob

Smaller wheel on the body tube. moves the body tube up and down only slightly. Allows for a sharp focus.

Stage

Flat area with hole in center. The slide is placed here for viewing.

Slide

Holds the specimen being viewed.

Coverslip

Sits on the top of the specimen in a wet mount slide. Helps keep it in place.

Diaphragm

The disk under the stage that controls the amount of light coming into the microscope.

Stage Clips

Metal clips used for holding slide in place, NOT to be used with a wet mount slide.

Light Source

Mirror, or electric light, which provides light for viewing objects.