Name: ______Date: ______/HW#: ____

Penny Lab Mr. Jensen/Period: _____

How Can We Measure Something SOOOOO Small????

Objective: To be able to make an estimated measurement of objects viewed under the microscope.

Materials:

  • Field of View Card
  • Piece of Graph Paper
  • Pencil
  • Penny
  • Magnifying Glass

Procedure:

1)Knowing that each small box on the graph paper is equal to 1 mm, and each larger box is equal to 1 cm, measure the diameter of the Field of View on the plastic card and record your answer below:

Diameter of the Field of View = ______cm OR ______mm

(HINT: Instead of counting, convert!)

2)Use the graph paper to measure the diameter of the penny. Record your answers below:

Diameter of the penny = ______cmOR ______mm

(HINT: Instead of counting, convert!)

3)Use the magnifying glass to view Abraham Lincoln sitting in the Lincoln Memorial on the BACK of the penny.

4)Go to the microscope & focus the graph paper slide under low power. Calculate the field diameter of our microscopes under low power. Make sure you line up the graph paper with the edge of your field of view. Count how many boxes you see across the MIDDLE of your field of view. Each full box is equal to 1 mm. You must estimate any boxes that cannot be seen in its entirety. Record your data below:

Field diameter of our microscopes = ______mmOR ______μm

5)Place the penny on the microscope. Line Abe Lincoln up with the edge of your field of view. Knowing that your entire diameter is ______(answer from #4), estimate how many mm Abe Lincoln is and record your data below.

Size of Abe Lincoln = ______mmOR ______μm

6)Move Abe to the center of the field of view. Create a microscopic drawing of Abe Lincoln below. Remember, microscopic drawings must be drawn to scale, labeled, and colored.

CONCLUSION QUESTIONS:

1)Fill in the blanks using the words ‘more’ and ‘less’:

If you viewed the penny under high power, the image would be ______detailed and we would see ______of the image.

2)If you viewed an object under the microscope that was half the size of President Lincoln, approximately how big would it be? ______

3)You place anamoeba under our microscopes and only see half of it. How big is the object? ______

4)What is the size of the paramecium below? Assume that the field diameter is equal to the field diameter of our microscopes.Answer in micrometers.______

5)If we viewed Abe under high power, what would his measurement be? ______

6)Explain your answer to #5 below:

______