Question

Describe the changes in the field of view and the amount of available light when going from low to high power using the compound microscope

Answer 1

A light microscope is a common lab tool used to study microscopic organisms and structures. When increasing the magnification (power) of the microscope, the field of view is decreased, since the microscope is essentially "zooming" in to a smaller area. For a given numerical aperture, the amount of available light decreases when going to a higher magnification (M) because the light collection is proportional to 1 / M^2.