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Moving the Slide Forward on the Microscope

The microscope can open you up to a new world of microscopic creatures. Otherwise undetectable amoebas and bacteria can be viewed with a classroom microscope. Even a piece of hair, eyelash or skin takes on a new and mysterious perspective when viewed through the increased magnification of a light microscope. You need to learn to use a microscope properly to get the most out of the experience and to preserve the equipment and slide-specimens for others. An important component of proper use of the microscope is to learn to move the slide forward, backward and side-to-side for proper positioning.

Things You'll Need

Microscope
Glass slide

Instructions

- 1
  Adjust the stage of the microscope so that the stage is at its lowest position.
- 2
  
  Familiarize yourself with the parts of the microscope before using it.
  
  Place the slide on the stage, centering it over the light aperture on the stage. Don't secure the slide with the stage clips until after you have the image in view.
- 3
  
  The typical classroom microscope has three objective lenses with increasingly stronger magnification.
  
  Raise the level of the stage using the coarse adjustment knob while looking through the eyepiece, using the object lens with the least amount of magnification.
- 4
  Adjust the slide using both hands if the image you are trying to look at is totally out of view (especially if the microscope does not have stage adjusting knobs). If the microscope has stage-adjusting knobs, turn them to move the stage from side to side or front and back until the image you are examining appears centered through the eyepiece. When the image is in view, secure the slide with the stage clips on both sides of the slide.
- 5
  
  The image you see in most microscopes is upside-down and inverted.
  
  Turn the nosepiece of the objective lenses to the next-most-powerful magnification setting and fine-tune the position of the slide. Remember that with light or compound microscopes, commonly used in the classroom, the image you are seeing is actually upside-down and inverted, providing you with the exact opposite image of the actual in terms of its position. If you move the slide to the left, it will appear to move to the right in the eyepiece. If you move the image forward, it will move backward in the eyepiece. This can take a little bit of experimentation to get used to.

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