1. eyepiece-where you look through to see the image of your specimen.

2. body tube-the long tube that holds the eyepiece and connects it to the objectives.

3. nosepiece-the rotating part of the microscope at the bottom of the body tube; it holds the objectives.

4. objective lenses-(low, medium, high, oil immersion) the microscope may have 2, 3 or more objectives attached to the nosepiece; they vary in length (the shortest is the lowest power or magnification; the longest is the highest power or magnification).

5. arm-part of the microscope that you carry the microscope with.

6. coarse adjustment knob-large, round knob on the side of the microscope used for focusing the specimen; it may move either the stage or the upper part of the microscope.

7. fine adjustment knob-small, round knob on the side of the microscope used to fine-tune the focus of your specimen after using the coarse adjustment knob.

8. stage-large, flat area under the objectives; it has a hole in it (see aperture) that allows light through; the specimen/slide is placed on the stage for viewing.

9. stage clips-shiny, clips on top of the stage which hold the slide in place.

10. aperture-the hole in the stage that allows light through for better viewing of the specimen.

11. diaphraghm-controls the amount of light going through the aperture.

12. light or mirror-source of light usually found near the base of the microscope; the light source makes the specimen easier to see.