Student Objectives for Laboratory 1

Know the parts of a compound microscope.
Know how to determine the magnification of a microscope.
Know how to convert measurements from one unit to another using unit factor conversion.
Know how to use a stage micrometer to determine the width of the ocular pointer.
Know how to estimate the size of a microscopic object with a microscope.
Be able to define "depth of field," and know how depth of field changes as magnification changes.

Be familiar with the structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
Know the major differences between plant and animal cells.
Know how to make a wet mount of living material.
Know how make observations of cells using a microscope.
Estimate the size of a cheek cell, and the nucleus of a cheek cell.
Be familiar with stains, and how they make some observations easier.

Understand how stains can be used to determine the distribution of substances in cells.

Know the steps in the scientific method
Know why attempts to reject a hypothesis are more powerful than attempts to prove a hypothesis