What are the two types of microscope?

1Light microscopes.


2Electron microscopes.

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What is the magnifying power of a light microscope?

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Give 5 advantages of light microscopes (compared to electron microscopes).

  1. Cheap.
  2. Easy to use.
  3. Small, so easy to transport.
  4. Produce colour images.
  5. Can see living specimens (e.g. live cells).

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Explain the main disadvantage of light microscopes (as compared to electron microscopes).

Light microscopes rely on light, whereas electron microscopes rely on electrons.


Light has a much longer wavelength than electrons, which means that light microscopes have a lower resolution than electron microscopes.


This in turn means that light microscopes have a lower maximum magnification, and so can’t see many details within cells, such as the details of sub-cellular structures.

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What is the magnifying power of an electron microscope?

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What is the main advantage of electron microscopes (compared to light microscopes)?

Electron microscopes have a greater resolution and magnification.


This means they can be used to see details within sub-cellular structures.

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Why do electron microscopes have a greater magnification and resolution than light microscopes?

They use a beam of electrons rather than light waves, and the electrons have a shorter wavelength than light waves.

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Give 5 disadvantages of electron microscopes (compared to light microscopes).

  1. Expensive.
  2. Difficult to use, and require specialist training.
  3. Large, so difficult to transport.
  4. Images generated are in black and white.
  5. Can only view dead specimens.

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