Cell: Smallest unit of life, Everything that is living is made out of cells.

Cell theory: Organisms are made out of cells and those cells come from other cells.

Cryogenic electron microscopy: While using an electron microscopy, samples are frozen to cryogenic (deep freeze for preservation) temperatures.

Cytoplasm: Gel substance inside cells that has organelles, cytoskeleton and other structures.

Deductive reasoning: Create a conclusion with evidence that is given.

DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, inside cell’s nucleus, carries genetic info about the development and functions of organism.

Electron microscope (MCSP): Instrument that uses electrons to get a magnified image of tiny object, like a sub-cellular structure.

Field of View: Max area visible through lenses of MCSP.

Freeze-fracture: Visualize structures of bio samples that were frozen then broken into small pieces.

Immunofluorescence: Fluorescent tag is attached to antibodies, which binds to antigens on a visualized structure to see location of target molecules.

Inductive reasoning: Uses related observations to form a theory/conclusion.

Light microscope: MCSP that uses light to view specimens, magnification levels of 400-1500x.

Magnification: Comparison the size of an image to its actual size. Magnification of 100x means the image is 100x larger

Multicellular: Organism composed of more than one cell.

Objective lens: Lens closest to the slide that holds the specimen being observed.

Ocular lens: Part of the microscope that magnifies the image so we can see it.

Plasma membrane: Thin, sometimes permeable layer of phspholipid and protein that surrounds the cell. It is a shield and regulates the movement of molecules and ions in and out of the cell.

Resolution: How well a MSCP can distinguish a specimen.

Ribosome: Sub-cellular structure where protein synthesis takes place.

Scale: the range of sizes of objects that can be detected using microscopes

Unicellular: Made out of 1 cell.

Wet mount: specimen is suspended in a drop of water.