How to Calculate the Total Magnification Viewed Under a Compound Microscope
A compound microscope is one of the most common pieces of equipment in a high school biology laboratory. As you look at a compound microscope, you may notice that it has one magnification written on its ocular lens and another magnification written on its objective lens. While the presence of two magnifications may seem confusing at first, you easily can use the two numbers to calculate the total magnification of an object viewed under the microscope.
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Instructions
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Find the magnification, or number, printed on the compound microscope's ocular lens. The ocular lens is the eyepiece that you look through. Normally, the lens has a magnification of 10x.
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Locate the magnification printed on the microscope's objective lens you use.The objective lens is just above the slide or sample you observe with the microscope. Many microscopes have multiple objective lenses that rotate, providing different magnifications. The most common objective lens magnifications are 4x, 10x, 40x and 100x.
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Multiply the magnification of the ocular lens by the magnification of the objective lens to determine the total magnification. If the ocular lens is 10x and the objective lens is 10x, for example, then the total magnification is 100x. The equation is: ocular magnification x objective magnification = total magnification.
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Tips & Warnings
If no magnification appears on the ocular lens, it is most likely 10x.
References
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