Biology AS OCR
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1-1-practical-skills-written-assessment AS7 主题
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1-2-practical-skills-endorsement-assessment AS16 主题
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1-2-1-practical-ethical-use-of-organisms as
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1-2-2-practical-aseptic-techniques as
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1-2-3-practical-dissection-of-gas-exchange-surfaces-in-fish-and-insects as
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1-2-4-drawing-cells-from-blood-smears as
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1-2-5-practical-investigating-biodiversity-using-sampling as
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1-2-6-practical-data-loggers-and-computer-modelling as
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1-2-7-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-diffusion as
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1-2-8-practical-investigating-water-potential as
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1-2-9-practical-factors-affecting-membrane-structure-and-permeability as
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1-2-10-biochemical-tests-reducing-sugars-and-starch as
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1-2-11-biochemical-tests-lipids as
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1-2-12-biochemical-tests-proteins as
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1-2-13-chromatography as
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1-2-14-serial-dilutions as
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1-2-15-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-transpiration as
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1-2-16-practical-using-a-light-microscope as
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1-2-1-practical-ethical-use-of-organisms as
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2-1-cell-structure AS9 主题
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2-1-2-using-a-microscope as
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2-1-3-drawing-cells as
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2-1-4-magnification-and-resolution as
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2-1-5-eukaryotic-cells as
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2-1-6-eukaryotic-cells-under-the-microscope as
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2-1-7-organelles-and-the-production-of-proteins as
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2-1-8-the-cytoskeleton as
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2-1-9-prokaryotic-and-eukaryotic-cells as
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2-1-1-studying-cells as
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2-1-2-using-a-microscope as
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2-2-biological-molecules AS17 主题
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2-2-1-properties-of-water as
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2-2-2-monomers-and-polymers as
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2-2-3-monosaccharides as
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2-2-4-the-glycosidic-bond as
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2-2-5-polysaccharides as
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2-2-6-biochemical-tests-reducing-sugars-and-starch as
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2-2-7-lipids-and-ester-bonds as
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2-2-8-lipids-structure-and-function as
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2-2-9-biochemical-tests-lipids as
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2-2-10-amino-acids-and-peptide-bonds as
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2-2-11-protein-structure as
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2-2-12-globular-proteins as
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2-2-13-fibrous-proteins as
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2-2-14-inorganic-ions as
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2-2-15-biochemical-tests-proteins as
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2-2-16-finding-the-concentration-of-a-substance as
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2-2-17-chromatography as
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2-2-1-properties-of-water as
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2-3-nucleotides-and-nucleic-acids AS8 主题
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2-4-enzymes AS9 主题
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2-4-1-the-role-of-enzymes as
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2-4-2-enzyme-action as
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2-4-3-enzyme-activity-ph as
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2-4-4-enzyme-activity-temperature as
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2-4-5-enzyme-activity-enzyme-concentration as
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2-4-6-enzyme-activity-substrate-concentration as
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2-4-7-enzyme-activity-enzyme-inhibitors as
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2-4-8-coenzymes-cofactors-and-prosthetic-groups as
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2-4-9-practical-measuring-enzyme-activity as
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2-4-1-the-role-of-enzymes as
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2-5-biological-membranes AS9 主题
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2-5-1-the-cell-surface-membrane as
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2-5-2-membrane-structure-and-permeability as
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2-5-3-diffusion-and-facilitated-diffusion as
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2-5-4-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-diffusion as
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2-5-5-active-transport as
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2-5-6-endocytosis-and-exocytosis as
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2-5-7-osmosis as
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2-5-8-osmosis-in-animal-and-plant-cells as
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2-5-9-practical-investigating-water-potential as
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2-5-1-the-cell-surface-membrane as
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2-6-cell-division-cell-diversity-and-cellular-organisation AS11 主题
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2-6-1-the-cell-cycle as
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2-6-2-the-stages-of-mitosis as
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2-6-3-identifying-mitosis-in-plant-cells as
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2-6-4-the-significance-of-mitosis as
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2-6-5-the-stages-of-meiosis as
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2-6-6-the-significance-of-meiosis as
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2-6-7-specialised-cells as
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2-6-8-the-organisation-of-cells as
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2-6-9-stem-cells as
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2-6-10-stem-cells-in-animals-and-plants as
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2-6-11-the-use-of-stem-cells as
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2-6-1-the-cell-cycle as
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3-1-exchange-surfaces AS7 主题
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3-2-transport-in-animals AS12 主题
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3-2-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-animals as
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3-2-2-circulatory-systems as
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3-2-3-blood-vessels as
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3-2-4-tissue-fluid as
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3-2-5-the-mammalian-heart as
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3-2-6-practical-mammalian-heart-dissection as
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3-2-7-the-cardiac-cycle as
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3-2-8-cardiac-output as
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3-2-9-heart-action-initiation-and-control as
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3-2-10-electrocardiograms-ecgs as
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3-2-11-the-role-of-haemoglobin as
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3-2-12-adult-and-fetal-haemoglobin as
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3-2-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-animals as
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3-3-transport-in-plants AS11 主题
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3-3-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-plants as
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3-3-2-the-xylem-and-phloem as
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3-3-3-the-xylem as
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3-3-4-the-phloem as
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3-3-5-transverse-sections-stems-roots-and-leaves as
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3-3-6-the-process-of-transpiration as
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3-3-7-transpiration-in-plants as
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3-3-8-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-transpiration as
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3-3-9-translocation as
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3-3-10-the-mass-flow-hypothesis as
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3-3-11-the-adaptations-of-xerophytic-and-hydrophytic-plants as
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3-3-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-plants as
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4-1-communicable-diseases-disease-prevention-and-the-immune-system AS16 主题
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4-1-1-common-pathogens-and-communicable-diseases as
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4-1-2-transmission-of-communicable-pathogens as
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4-1-3-plant-defences-against-pathogens as
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4-1-4-non-specific-immune-responses as
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4-1-5-phagocytes as
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4-1-6-blood-cells as
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4-1-7-the-t-lymphocyte-response as
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4-1-8-the-b-lymphocyte-response as
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4-1-9-primary-and-secondary-immune-responses as
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4-1-10-antibodies as
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4-1-11-opsonins-agglutinins-and-anti-toxins as
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4-1-12-types-of-immunity as
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4-1-13-autoimmune-diseases as
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4-1-14-principles-of-vaccination as
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4-1-15-sources-of-medicine as
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4-1-16-antibiotics as
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4-1-1-common-pathogens-and-communicable-diseases as
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4-2-biodiversity AS10 主题
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4-2-1-biodiversity as
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4-2-2-sampling-to-determine-biodiversity as
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4-2-3-practical-investigating-biodiversity-using-sampling as
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4-2-4-measuring-species-richness-and-species-evenness as
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4-2-5-simpsons-index as
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4-2-6-genetic-diversity as
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4-2-7-factors-affecting-biodiversity as
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4-2-8-reasons-for-maintaining-biodiversity as
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4-2-9-methods-of-maintaining-biodiversity as
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4-2-10-conservation-agreements as
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4-2-1-biodiversity as
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4-3-classification-and-evolution AS15 主题
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4-3-1-classification-of-species as
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4-3-2-binomial-system as
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4-3-3-classification-of-the-three-domains as
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4-3-4-classification-of-the-five-kingdoms as
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4-3-5-classification-and-phylogeny as
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4-3-6-evidence-of-evolution as
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4-3-7-types-of-variation as
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4-3-8-standard-deviation as
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4-3-9-variation-t-test-method as
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4-3-10-variation-t-test-worked-example as
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4-3-11-spearmans-rank-correlation as
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4-3-12-adaptation as
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4-3-13-natural-selection as
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4-3-14-evolution-of-resistance as
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4-3-15-consequences-of-resistance as
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4-3-1-classification-of-species as
2-1-1-studying-cells as
Exam code:H020
Use of microscopy
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Microscopes can be used to observe and investigate cell structure
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Different types of microscope can be used to study cells at different levels of detail, e.g.
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light microscopes
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electron microscopes
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The images generated by the different types of microscope differ significantly
Light microscopes
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Light, or optical, microscopes use light to form an image
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The maximum resolution of a light microscope is around 0.2 micrometres (µm), meaning that the maximum useful magnification of optical microscopes is about ×1500
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Light microscopes can only be used to observe larger structures, e.g.:
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entire cells
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nuclei
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mitochondria and chloroplasts
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While light microscopes have limited resolution, they do have advantages, such as:
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they are small and relatively cheap
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specimen preparation can be straightforward enough to perform in a school laboratory
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they can be used to produce colour images
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they allow the observation of living specimens
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Light microscope image

Light microscope images allow the observation of cell shape, as well as larger internal structures, e.g, here chloroplasts can be seen within a series of plant cells
Kelvinsong, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab)
Electron microscopes
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Electron microscopes use electrons to form an image
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Electron microscopes have a maximum resolution of around 0.0002 µm, or 0.2 nm, and a maximum magnification that range from around ×1,000,000 up to many millions
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Electron microscopes can be used to observe small structures inside cells, such as:
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cell membranes
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ribosomes
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the endoplasmic reticulum
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lysosomes
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While electron microscopes are essential tools in the study of cell biology, they do have some limitations
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They are very large and expensive
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Specimens must be prepared using a highly complex process
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Specimens must be viewed in a vacuum, meaning that live specimens cannot be observed
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Images are always black and white, though they can be artificially coloured during processing
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There are two types of electron microscope:
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transmission electron microscopes (TEMs)
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scanning electron microscopes (SEMs)
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Transmission electron microscopes
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TEMs use electromagnets to transmit a beam of electrons through a specimen; denser parts of the specimen absorb more electrons, meaning that denser parts appear darker on the final image
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TEMs produce images that:
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are high-resolution
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allow the internal structures within cells, and within organelles to be seen
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are two-dimensional
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TEM image

TEM images allow the internal structures within cells and organelles to be studied
Klingm01, via Wikimedia Commons (opens in a new tab)
Scanning electron microscopes
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SEMs pass a beam of electrons across the surface of a specimen and then detect the rate at which the electrons bounce back
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This means that SEMs produce images that:
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are three-dimensional
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show the surface of specimens
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SEMs have a lower maximum resolution than TEMs
SEM image

SEM images are three-dimensional and show the surface of objects, e.g. here E. coli bacteria can be seen
NIAID, via Flickr (opens in a new tab)
Examiner Tips and Tricks
In an exam you could be shown an image and asked to identify the microscope used to produce it, so make sure that you understand the differences between the images produced by the different types of microscope.
Responses