Biology 201

Introduction to the Microscope

Laboratory Safety and Etiquette

Cabrillo College Department of Biology

Laboratory Rules

No eating or drinking in labs

Do not enter halls; remain only in classroom

Clean up after yourself

Laboratory Etiquette

Clean your personal workspace after use• Wipe down benches with disinfectant before and after

use

Ensure that no trash is left behind No trash in the sinks Push in chairs Place lab items back on carts and trays

Laboratory Safety Outline

1. Laboratory Hygiene

2. Sharps Safety

3. Safety Equipment

4. Fire Safety

5. Chemical Safety

6. Biohazard Safety

1. Laboratory Hygiene

Avoid cross contamination• Do not touch self, faucets, doorknobs, notebooks,

pens etc. with gloves on.

Clean and disinfect your workspace

Scrub hands thoroughly before leaving lab

2. Sharps Safety Sharps include

• Razor and scalpel blades• Needles and pins• Microscope cover slips• Broken glass

Place sharps in designated, labeled sharps boxes

Larger broken glass pieces go into designated glass box (ask for help)

NO SHARPS OR GLASS IN THE TRASH

3. Safety Equipment

Shower and eyewash (15 min. soak)• Do not hesitate to use this equipment if necessary

First aid kit

4. Fire Safety

Never leave flames unattended Do not use flammables near ignition

sources Fire Extinguishers

• Pull ring, aim at fire’s base, squeeze handle, sweep back and forth (evacuate if >1m3)

Fire Blanket Fire alarm pulls

5. Chemical Safety

HAZMAT is short for “Hazardous Material”~Any material that would be a danger to life or the environment if released without precautions

Dispose of chemical waste in provided containers

DO NOT pour chemical wastes down the drain

Wear gloves and safety glasses when appropriate

Follow the instructor’s directions when dealing with any chemical

6. BIOHAZARD Safety BIOHAZARD is short for Biological Hazard

~Any biological substance or substances that may pose a threat to the health of a living organism, particularly humans

Biohazards include, but are not limited to: Human cells, bodily fluids, and bacterial cultures

Biohazard sharps must be placed into the biohazard Sharps container

Solid Biohazard materials must be sealed in a biohazard bag, and then placed into the biohazard bin for professional disposal

History of the Microscope

• Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1676) was first to see microorganisms

• Robert Hooke proposed “cell theory” and invented primitive compound microscopes

History of the Microscope

A Compound Microscope

Rules for microscope protection1. Cary microscope upright with two hands2. Clean lenses with lens paper ONLY3. Always begin with lowest power objective4. Focus downwards5. Never use course focus with the 10x, 40x

or 100x objective6. When returning to cabinet: remove last

slide, lower stage, put 4x objective in place, turn dimmer down to 1, wrap cord, place in cabinet with eyepieces facing inward

Slides we will look at today

1. Letter “e”

2. Colored threads

3. Elodea plant

4. Cheek cells

5. Blood smear

This slide is brought to you by the letter “e” (40x objective)

Slide of thread with 40x objective

Slide of elodea with 10x and 40x objectives

Cytoplasmic streaming of chloroplasts inside elodea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFtzs_cUddI

Slide of elodea with 40x objective in Sodium chloride

Properties of Light

Properties of Light

• Oil matches the refraction index of glass

Slide of human cheek cells with 40x objective

Slide of human blood cells under oil immersion

(100x objective)

Clean up reminder

The end