Newspaper Microscope Lab

microscopic MIZZOU tiger

Yesterday was our introduction to Microscopes for the 2013-2014 school year. In order to introduce them, students looked at scraps of newspaper under the microscope and took photos of what they saw with their smart phones.

First, they looked at black and white text from a newspaper:

 

 

Then the students looked at a colored image from the newspaper under the microscope:

 The goal of this lab is to allow my students to begin to use the microscopes with an easily example. All students have seen a newspaper, but very few students have seen a newspaper under a microscopic lens. I love seeing their faces when they discover that paper is made up of many tiny fibers and that one color is actually made up of many different dots of color.

2 Stars for success!

stomata lab

Right now students in my class are wrapping up our the PHOTOSYNTHESIS & PLANT UNIT. One of the things students needed to know is the role of stomata in the leaves of plants.

Stomata are small openings in the underside of a leaf that allow gases to flow in and out of the cell. It is surrounded by two guard cells that open and close, depending on various factors.

Stomata are easily found in a plant called a Wandering Jew plant because the underside of the leaves are purple, whereas the stomata are a bright green color.

Yesterday students identified stomata first using a magnifying glass and then using a microscope. Below are some photos of their findings:

4x magnification

 

10x magnification

40x magnification