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Non Nobis Sed Patriae

THERE ARE MANY MORE CANADA PAGES on this site
Click on the various links in the left-frame.

Early Exploration
The earliest records of life in North America begin in a warmer age, when people moved across the Bering land bridge or travelled by water and ice and made a home in what is now the Canadian Arctic. People have been living in the Yukon region for almost 30,000 years. The aboriginal people who crossed the land bridge were the first inhabitants of North America. Many settled in various areas, including the northern tundra, while some moved south to the warmer climate and good hunting found there.

Eric the Red brought the Vikings to Greenland, where they lived for about 500 years, then died out. They were farmers who built their huts of dirt and timber, with sod roofs. They raised sheep, goats and cattle imported from Norway. Life span of these early Viking settlers was about 30 to 35 years. It is believed they died of disease or starved to death when crops failed due to severe weather (possibly a mini ice age) about the year 1500. Remains of their settlements remain today.
Around the year 1000 Leif Ericsson and other Vikings explorers sailed into into Labrador waters and at L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland they made landfall to gather provisions and replenish their supply of drinking water for the long return voyage to Europe. Historians believe that Leif landed somewhere on the northernmost tip of Newfoundland on the Strait of Belle Isle. The theory was confirmed in 1963, after a Norwegian expedition uncovered the remains of a Viking settlement near the fishing village. Some hut ruins and small stone markers have been credited to them. It is believed that they stayed in the area for a period of time to rest and hunt.

In 1497 John Cabot claimed Cape Breton Island for Henry VII of England during his first voyage to the new world. 1498 saw John Cabot make his second voyage to North America and it is believed he went ashore in Newfoundland and the mainland.
In 1577 Martin Frobisher of England make the first of three futile attempts to find the northwest passage to Asia, sailing as far as Hudson Strait.
Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c1537-1583) arrived off Newfoundland in 1583 with his ships Delight, Golden Hind, Swallow and Squirrel. He entered St. John's Harbour two days later to claim Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth I of England. Gilbert set up the first English colony in North America on 5 August 1583

The first permanent English settlement in the new land that was to later become Canada, was at Cuper's Cove in Conception Bay, Newfoundland. It was founded in 1609-1610 by John Guy and a group of 39 settlers who came there because of the vast quantities of fish found there. They fell upon hard times within a few years and many of them died. A very harsh climate forced the few survivors to abandon the settlement and return to England in 1613.

Origin of the name "Canada"
In 1535, the aboriginal people told French explorer Jacques Cartier about the route to "kanata". They were referring to the village of Stadacona - "kanata" was simply the Huron-Iroquois word for "village" or "settlement". Cartier used "Canada" to refer not only to Stadacona (site of present-day Quebec City), but also to the entire area. Maps as early as 1547 designated everything north of the St. Lawrence River as "Canada".

Jacques Cartier also called the St. Lawrence River the "rivière de Canada", a name used until the early 1600s. When Samuel de Champlain and other Europeans began to visit (what is now New Brunswick) in the early 1600s, they were met by Maliseets and Micmacs. Some early French farmers settled at the head of the Bay of Fundy and up the St. John River Valley as far as present-day Fredericton, and called the land Acadia. In 1608 Champlain established Quebec City on the banks of the St. Lawrence river. By 1616, although the entire region was now known as "New France", the area along the St. Lawrence and the Gulf of St. Lawrence was referred to as Canada by the settlers.

NOTE: Need more info on the Early Explorers of Canada? Click here to go to our EXPLORERS page.

"We are the land" and "the Earth is our mother"
(2 old First Nations sayings)

(For Detailed Maps of Canada and the Provinces and Territories - Click here)

THE CAPITAL CITIES OF THE PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES
The following are the capital cities of the 10 Provinces (from West to East) and the 3 Territories:-
British Columbia (Victoria); Alberta (Edmonton); Saskatchewan (Regina); Manitoba (Winnipeg); Ontario (Toronto); Québec (Québec City); New Brunswick (Fredericton); Nova Scotia (Halifax); Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown); Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John's); Yukon Territory (Whitehorse); Northwest Territory (Yellowknife); and Nunavut Territory (Iqaluit).

PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES QUICK FACT SHEETS

to load the small Canada Map which will link you to individual Province and Territory Quick Facts Sheets.

Canada is a BIG country!

Area: 9,970,610 sq. km. (3,849,652 sq. mi.)
The estimated population of Canada as of 2006 is 31,613,000.
Canada is the second-largest country in the world, by surface area. Russia is first with 17,070,000 sq. km., then Canada, followed by China with 9,597,000 sq. km. and the U.S.A. with 9,363,000 sq. km.
Canada comprises seven percent (7%) of the earth's total surface area.
It reaches more than 4,600 km. from Cape Columbia on Ellesmere Island (Canada's northern extremity) to Middle Island, Ontario (the southern-most point).
From west to east, Canada covers 5,047 km. from Victoria, B.C. to St.John's, Nfld.
The Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian National Railway operate 86,880 km. of track from the Maritimes to the Fraser Delta in B.C. and from the U.S border to the far North.

The Canada /U.S.A Border

The boundary between the newly formed United States and British North America was established by the Treaty of Paris in 1783. From 1818 to 1925, the line was further established. By the 1870s, it became clear that the border needed some maintenance, not to mention some fine-tuning as to who owned what. A major resurveying of the boundary took place between 1908 and 1924.
The unguarded Canada / U.S.A. has always been calculated using metric measurements - even by the United States, which does not use metric.
The length of the boundary between Canada and the USA is 8,893 kilometres (5,526 miles), including the border between British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska. A total of 5,061 kilometres (3,145 miles) are along land and 3,832 kilometres (2,381 miles) are along water.
There are over 8000 monuments and reference points along the Canada/USA border.

FLAGS OF CANADA, PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES
The Canadian Maple Leaf flag is our proud National symbol.

Just as Canada has a National Flag, each Canadian Province and Territory has its own flag. To learn more about Canada's flags throughout history and view all the many and varied Canadian flags, click the 'Canada's Flags' button in the left frame.

Official Lyrics of O Canada (in English and French)

Previously, Canadians sang God Save the Queen/King as their anthem.

"O Canada" was proclaimed Canada's national anthem on July 1, 1980, 100 years after it was first sung on June 24, 1880. The music was composed by Calixa Lavallée, a well-known composer. French lyrics to accompany the music were written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier. Many English versions have appeared over the years. The anthem on which the official English lyrics are based was written in 1908 by Mr. Justice Robert Stanley Weir.
The official English version now includes changes recommended in 1968 by a Special Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons. The French lyrics remained unaltered.

The criticism of Weir's original version was that the words asked Canadians to "stand on guard" too many times without telling them exactly for what reason. As a result, two of the five "stand on guard's" and one "O Canada" were removed and replaced by "From far and wide" and "God keep our land". With these alterations, we now have a new national anthem.

Click here to play O Canada

Click here view sheet music

THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF CANADA and
THE PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA

Her Excellency The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean Governor-General of Canada

The Right Honourable Stephan Harper Twenty-second Prime Minister of Canada

Previous Governors-General and Prime Ministers
To go to the LEADERS page click the link in the left frame.

NATIONAL EMBLEMS
A National emblem of Canada is the maple leaf and according to many historians, it began to serve as a Canadian symbol as early as 1700. In 1834, the first St. Jean Baptiste Society in North America made the maple leaf its emblem. In 1848, the Toronto literary annual "THE MAPLE LEAF" referred to it as the chosen emblem of Canada.
In 1860, the maple leaf was formally adopted as a national emblem and was incorporated into the badge of the 100th Regiment (Royal Canadians). It was used extensively in decorations for the visits to Canada of the Prince of Wales. In 1868 it appeared on the coats of arms granted to Quebec and Ontario. Since 1921, the Royal Arms of Canada have included three maple leaves as a distinctive Canadian Emblem.
The Maple leaf today appears on the Canadian penny. However, between 1876 and 1901, it appeared on all Canadian coins. The modern one-cent piece has two maple leafs on a common twig, a design that has gone almost unchanged since 1937.
During the First World War, the maple leaf was included in the badge of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
With the proclamation of Canada's new flag in 1965, the maple leaf has become the most prominent Canadian symbol.

The Beaver, West Coast totem poles, the RCMP Musical Ride, the birch-bark canoe, the Canada Goose, and the Schooner Bluenose are other very well-known Canadian symbols.

REAMBLE

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1.

• All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.

• Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.

• Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.

• No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.

• No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.

• Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.

• All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.

• Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.

• No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.

• Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.

• (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
• (2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.

• No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.

• (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
• (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.

• (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
• (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.

• (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
• (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.

• (1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
• (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
• (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.

• (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
• (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18.

• Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.

• Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.

• (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
• (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.

• (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
• (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
• (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.

• Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.

• (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
• (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
• (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
• (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.

• Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.

• (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
• (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.

• (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
• (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
• (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.

• (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
• (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.

• Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.

• (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
• (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
• (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.

• Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

Science

Extreme Environments

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The serene landscape of Black Lake, located in the Eastern Sierras, masks its identity as an extreme environment. Crystallized alkaline deposits (white) cover the surface and marginal areas of the lake. This image was taken by David Patterson.

Types of Extreme Environments

• Alkaline: broadly conceived as natural habitats above pH 9 whether persistently, or with regular frequency or for protracted periods of time.
• Acidic: broadly conceived as natural habitats below pH 5 whether persistently, or with regular frequency or for protracted periods of time.

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Octopus Spring is an alkaline hot spring, located in Yellowstone National Park, that supports the growth of thermophilic bacteria. This image was taken by Brett Leigh Dicks and provided courtesy of the microscope web site.
• Extremely Cold: broadly conceived habitats periodically or consistently below 5°C either persistently, or with regular frequency or for protracted periods of time. Includes montane sites, polar sites, and deep ocean habitats.
• Extremely Hot: broadly conceived habitats periodically or consistently in excess of 40°C either persistently, or with regular frequency or for protracted periods of time. Includes sites with geological thermal influences such as Yellowstone and comparable locations worldwide or deep-sea vents.
• Hypersaline: (high salt) environments with salt concentrations greater than that of seawater, that is, >3.5%. Includes salt lakes.
• Under Pressure: broadly conceived as habitats under extreme hydrostatic pressure—i.e. aquatic habitats deeper than 2000 meters and enclosed habitats under pressure. Includes habitats in oceans and deep lakes.

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Alkaline Lake, of the Eastern Sierras, is shown above with a soft, gelatinous microbial mat forming over the surface. Image taken by David Patterson.
• Radiation: broadly conceived as habitats exposed to abnormally high radiation or of radiation outside the normal range of light. Includes habitats exposed to high UV and IR radiation.
• Without Water: broadly conceived as habitats without free water whether persistently, or with regular frequency or for protracted periods of time. Includes hot and cold desert environments, and some endolithic habitats.
• Without Oxygen: broadly conceived as habitats without free oxygen - whether persistently, or with regular frequency, or for protracted periods of time. Includes habitats in deeper sediments.
• Altered by Humans: heavy metals, organic compounds; anthropogenically impacted habitats. Includes mine talings, oil impacted habitats.
• Astrobiology: Addresses life beyond the known biosphere—inclusive of life on other heavenly bodies, in space etc. Includes terraforming.

Introduction

In this tutorial you will be learning about the Linnaean system of classification used in the biological sciences to describe and categorize all living things.  The focus is on finding out how humans fit within this system.  In addition, you will discover part of the great diversity of life forms and come to understand why some animals are considered to be close to us in their evolutionary history.

How many species are there?

This is not an easy question to answer.  About 1.8 million have been given scientific names.  Nearly 2/3 of these are insects.  Estimates of the total number of living species generally range from 10 to 100 million.  It is likely the actual number is on the order of 13 to 14 million, with most being insects and microscopic life forms in tropical regions.  However, we may never know how many there are because many of them will become extinct before being counted and described.

The tremendous diversity in life today is not new to our planet.  The noted paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould estimated that 99% of all plant and animal species that have existed have already become extinct with most leaving no fossils.  It is also humbling to realize that humans and other large animals are freakishly rare life forms, since 99% of all known animal species are smaller than bumble bees.

Why should we be interested in
learning about the diversity of life?

In order to fully understand our own biological evolution, we need to be aware that humans are animals and that we have close relatives in the animal kingdom.  Grasping the comparative evolutionary distances between different species is important to this understanding.  In addition, it is fun to learn about other kinds of creatures.

When did scientists begin classifying living things?

Before the advent of modern, genetically based evolutionary studies, European and American biology consisted primarily of taxonomy , or classification of organisms into different categories based on their physical characteristics.  The leading naturalists of the 18th and 19th centuries spent their lives identifying and naming newly discovered plants and animals.  However, few of them asked what accounted for the patterns of similarities and differences between the organisms.  This basically nonspeculative approach is not surprising since most naturalists two centuries ago held the view that plants and animals (including humans) had been created in their present form and that they have remained unchanged.  As a result, it made no sense to ask how organisms have evolved through time.  Similarly, it was inconceivable that two animals or plants may have had a common ancestor or that extinct species may have been ancestors of modern ones.

	Carolus Linnaeus 1707-1778

One of the most important 18th century naturalists was a Swedish botanist and medical doctor named Karl von Linné.  He wrote 180 books mainly describing plant species in extreme detail.  Since his published writings were mostly in Latin, he is known to the scientific world today as Carolus Linnaeus , which is the Latinized form he chose for his name.

In 1735, Linnaeus published an influential book entitled Systema Naturae in which he outlined his scheme for classifying all known and yet to be discovered organisms according to the greater or lesser extent of their similarities.  This Linnaean system of classification was widely accepted by the early 19th century and is still the basic framework for all taxonomy in the biological sciences today.

The Linnaean system uses two Latin name categories, genus and species , to designate each type of organism.  A genus is a higher level category that includes one or more species under it.  Such a dual level designation is referred to as a binomial nomenclature or binomen (literally "two names" in Latin).  For example, Linnaeus described humans in his system with the binomen Homo sapiens , or "man who is wise"--Homo is our genus and sapiens is our species.

genus		genus
species	species	species	species

Linnaeus also created higher, more inclusive classification categories.  For instance, he placed all monkeys and apes along with humans into the order Primates .  His use of the word Primates (from the Latin primus meaning "first") reflects the human centered world view of Western science during the 18th century.  It implied that humans were "created" first.  However, It also indicated that people are animals.

order
family				family
genus		genus		genus		genus
species	species	species	species	species	species	species	species

	Charles Darwin 1809-1882

While the form of the Linnaean classification system remains substantially the same, the reasoning behind it has undergone considerable change.   For Linnaeus and his contemporaries, taxonomy served to rationally demonstrate the unchanging order inherent in Biblical creation and was an end in itself.  From this perspective, spending a life dedicated to precisely describing and naming organisms was a religious act because it was revealing the great complexity of life created by God.

This static view of nature was overturned in science by the middle of the 19th century by a small number of radical naturalists, most notably Charles Darwin.  He provided conclusive evidence that evolution of life forms has occurred.  In addition, he proposed natural selection as the mechanism responsible for these changes.

Late in his life, Linnaeus also began to have some doubts about species being unchanging.  Crossbreeding resulting in new varieties of plants suggested to him that life forms could change somewhat.  However, he stopped short of accepting the evolution of one species into another.

Why do we classify living things today?

Since Darwin's time, biological classification has come to be understood as reflecting evolutionary distances and relationships between organisms.  The creatures of our time have had common ancestors in the past.  In a very real sense, they are members of the same family tree.

The great diversity of life is largely a result of branching evolution or adaptive radiation.  This is the diversification of a species into different lines as they adapt to new ecological niches and ultimately evolve into distinct species.  Natural selection is the principal mechanism driving adaptive radiation.

How to Use Your Compound Microscope

• Set your microscope on a tabletop or other flat, sturdy surface where you will have plenty of room to work. Plug the microscope’s power cord into an outlet. (Note: some compound microscopes don't use electric lighting, but have a mirror to focus natural light instead.)
• Switch on your microscope's light source and then adjust the diaphragm to the largest hole diameter, allowing the greatest amount of light through. If you have an iris diaphragm, slide the lever till the most light comes through. See the diagram below for help locating these parts.
• Rotate the nosepiece to the lowest-power objective (usually 4x for 40x magnification). It is easiest to scan a slide at a low setting, since you have a wider field of view at low power.
• Place a microscope slide on the stage, either under the stage clips or clipped onto the mechanical stage if your microscope has one. A prepared slide works best when you do this for the first time. (If you do not have a prepared slide, place a strand of colored yarn or thread on a blank slide and place a coverslip over it.) Move the slide until the specimen is under the objective lens.
• Adjust the large coarse focus knob until the specimen is in focus. Slowly move the slide to center the specimen under the lens, if necessary. Do this by nudging it gently with your fingers or by turning the slide control knobs if you have a mechanical stage.
• Adjust the small fine focus knob until the specimen is clearly in focus. Then adjust the diaphragm to get the best lighting. Start with the most light and gradually lessen it until the specimen image has clear, sharp contrast.
• Scan the slide (right to left and top to bottom) at low power to get an overview of the specimen. Then center the part of the specimen you want to view at higher power.
• Rotate the nosepiece to the 10x objective for 100x magnification. Refocus and view your specimen carefully. Adjust the lighting again until the image is most clear (you will need more light for higher power). Repeat with the 40x objective for 400x magnification, which will enable you to see all of the specimen detail that's necessary for high school biology lab work.
• Optional: If your microscope has a 100x oil-immersion lens, you'll need to put 1-2 drops of immersion oil over the slide coverslip (the piece of glass over the middle of the slide) before viewing it at highest power. Move the 100x objective lens into position, and then slowly move the stage up until the lens makes contact with the oil. Continue focusing with the coarse focus knob until the color or blurred outline of the specimen appears. Finish focusing with the fine focus knob. With the 100x lens, you will be able to see additional cell detail, but you will need to take extra care with focus and contrast for a clear image. When you are done using the slide, clean the oil off of the slide and the lens with lens cleaning paper and solution.

Once you've mastered the basics of using your microscope, you can expand your microscope studies. Print out copies of our Microscope Observation worksheet to help you record what you see!

Diagram of Microscope Parts

Microscope Cleaning and Maintenance

To clean the exterior side of lenses, use a non-solvent cleaning solution designed for cleaning optics or eyeglasses. First remove dust with a soft brush or can of compressed air. Then moisten a piece of dry lint-free tissue or lens paper and clean the lens surfaces with a circular motion. Repeat with a second piece of paper moistened with lens solution if necessary. Repeat once again with dry lens paper until the lens is clean and dry. Use this same procedure for the eyepiece and objective lenses.

To clean the interior side of lenses, use a bulb-type duster or a compressed gas canister designed for cameras and other optical equipment. Do not use the above procedure. Order our Microscope Cleaning Kit for a complete set of tools to clean your microscope with.

To clean the body of the microscope, use a soft dry or damp cloth. Using a dust cover will help keep your microscope investment clean and dust-free.