59

PASCO 2004 59 - 1 of 7
Optical Instruments: Telescope and Microscope

Optics: Optical instruments
Equipment List

Qty Items Part Numbers
1 Optics Bench, Basic Optics OS-8518
1 Viewing Screen, Basic Optics OS-8518
1 Convex Lens, +100 mm focal length, Basic Optics OS-8518
1 Convex Lens, +200 mm focal length, Basic Optics OS-8518
1 Metric ruler
1 Reference grid (see last page)
Introduction
The purpose of the first part of this activity is to construct a simple telescope and determine its
magnification. The purpose of the second part of this activity is to use the same components to
construct a simple microscope and determine its magnification. Use a viewing screen covered
with a reference grid, an optics bench, and a pair of convex lenses.
Background
A simple astronomical telescope magnifies the image of an object that is far away from the
telescope. The telescope is constructed with two convex lenses. The ray diagram for a simple
telescopes arrangement of lenses (shown in the drawing) indicates that the image is in the same
plane as the object. Having the image in the same plane as the object allows the distance to the
virtual image to be determined.
For this experiment, it is assumed that the lenses are thin compared to the other distances
involved. In this case the Thin Lens Formula may be used. This equation states:

1
f
=
1
d
0
+
1
d
i

where f is focal length, d
o
is the distance between the object and the lens, and d
i
is the distance
between the image and the lens.
The magnification of a two-lens system is equal to the multiplication of the magnifications of the
individual lenses:
d
i2

d
i1
d
02
d
01

Object
Image
Lens #1: 200 mm F.L. Lens #2: 100 mm F.L.
Telescope
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M = M
1
M
2
=
d
i1
d
01
|
\

|
.
|
d
i 2
d
02
|
\

|
.
|

A simple microscope magnifies the image of an object that is close to the microscope, and, like
the simple telescope, is constructed with two convex lens. The ray diagram for the arrangement
of lens is virtually the same as for the telescope, but the lens with the shorter focal length is
closer to the object.
For the microscope, the Thin Lens Formula and the formula for the magnification of a two-lens
system still apply.
Setup: Telescope
1. Use a copy of the grid (see the last page) as the object. Fasten the copy of the grid to the
viewing screen. Mount the viewing screen on one end of the optics bench.
2. Mount the 200 mm F.L. lens and the 100 mm F.L. lens on the other end of the bench with
the 200 mm lens nearer to the object (the viewing screen).
Procedure: Telescope
1. Put one eye close to the 100 mm lens at the end of the bench (the eyepiece lens). Focus the
image of the object (grid pattern) by moving the 200 mm lens (the objective lens) forward
or backward.
Viewing
screen
200 mm Lens
100 mm Lens
Top view
of person
Eyepiece lens
Objective lens
Viewing
screen
d
i2

d
i1
d
02
d
01

Object
Image
Lens #2: 200 mm F.L. Lens #1: 100 mm F.L.
Microscope
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PASCO 2004 59 - 3 of 7
Eliminate the Parallax
Parallax an apparent shifting of the image due to the motion
of the observer occurs if the image is not in same plane as the
object (grid pattern). To observe the parallax, open both eyes
and look through the lens at the image with one eye while
looking around the edge of the lens directly at the grid pattern
with the other eye. The lines of the image (solid lines in the
diagram) will be superimposed on the lines of the grid pattern
(dotted lines in the diagram). As you move your head up-and-
down or back-and-forth, the lines of the image may appear to
move relative to the lines of the grid pattern. If the lines move,
its due to parallax.
2. To eliminate the parallax, move the eyepiece (100 mm)
lens until the image lines do not shift relative to the
object lines when you move your head.
When there is no parallax, the lines in the center of the lens
appear to be stuck to the object lines. Note that even when
there is no parallax, the lines may appear to shift or curve near the edges of the lens because of
lens aberrations.
3. With the parallax eliminated, the virtual image is in the plane of the grid pattern. Record
the positions of the two lens and the viewing screen in the Lab Report section.
4. Estimate the magnification of this simple telescope by counting the number of squares in
the grid pattern that lie along one side of one square of the image. To do this, you must
view the image through the telescope with one eye while looking directly at the grid
pattern with the other eye.
5. Record the observed magnification as a ratio in the Lab Report.
6. Determine d
01
, the distance from the grid pattern to the objective (200 mm) lens and record
the distance.
7. Determine d
i2
, the distance from the eyepiece (100 mm) lens to the image. Since the image
is in the plane of the object, this is just the distance from the eyepiece lens to the grid
pattern on the viewing screen. Record the distance.
Analysis: Telescope
1. Calculate d
i1
using the value of d
01
and the focal length, f, of the objective lens (200 mm)
in the Thin Lens Formula:

1
f
=
1
d
0
+
1
d
i
. Record the calculation.
2. Calculate d
02
using the value of d
i2
and the focal length, f, of the eyepiece lens (100 mm)
in the Thin Lens Formula. Record the results.
3. Calculate the magnification using the magnification formula:

M = M
1
M
2
=
d
i1
d
01
|
\

|
.
|
d
i 2
d
02
|
\

|
.
|

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4. Calculate the percent difference between the observed (estimated) magnification and the
calculated magnification:

%diff =
observed calculated
calculated
100%
Extension
Remove the viewing screen and look through the lenses at a distant object such as a meter stick
at the other end of the room. Eliminate the parallax as before and estimate the magnification.
When viewing an object at infinity through a telescope, the magnification is the ratio of the
focal lengths of the lenses. Check to see if this is true for your telescope.
Setup: Microscope
1. Use the same basic setup as for the telescope. Mount the viewing screen on one end of the
optics bench.
2. Mount the 100 mm F.L. lens and the 200 mm F.L. lens on the other end of the bench with
the 100 mm lens nearer to the object (the viewing screen).
Procedure: Microscope
1. Put one eye close to the 200 mm lens at the end of the bench (the eyepiece lens). Focus the
image of the object (grid pattern) by moving the 100 mm lens (the objective lens) forward
or backward.
2. As before, eliminate the parallax by moving the eyepiece (200
mm) lens until the image lines do not shift relative to the object
lines when you move your head.
3. With the parallax eliminated, the virtual image is in the plane of
the grid pattern. Record the positions of the two lens and the
viewing screen in the Lab Report section.
4. Estimate the magnification of this simple microscope by
counting the number of squares in the grid pattern that lie along
one side of one square of the image. To do this, you must view
the image through the telescope with one eye while looking
directly at the grid pattern with the other eye.
5. Record the observed magnification as a ratio in the Lab Report.
6. Determine d
01
, the distance from the grid pattern to the objective (100 mm) lens and record
the distance.
Viewing
screen
100 mm Lens
200 mm Lens
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7. Determine d
i2
, the distance from the eyepiece (200 mm) lens to the image. Since the image
is in the plane of the object, this is just the distance from the eyepiece lens to the grid
pattern on the viewing screen. Record the distance.
Analysis: Microscope
1. Calculate d
i1
using the value of d
01
and the focal length, f, of the objective lens (100 mm)
in the Thin Lens Formula:

1
f
=
1
d
0
+
1
d
i
. Record the calculation.
2. Calculate d
02
using the value of d
i2
and the focal length, f, of the eyepiece lens (200 mm)
in the Thin Lens Formula. Record the results.
3. Calculate the magnification using the magnification formula:

M = M
1
M
2
=
d
i1
d
01
|
\

|
.
|
d
i 2
d
02
|
\

|
.
|

4. Calculate the percent difference between the observed (estimated) magnification and the
calculated magnification:

%diff =
observed calculated
calculated
100%
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Lab Report: Telescope and Microscope
Name: ________________________________________________________________
Analysis
Data Table
Complete the data table.

Simple Telescope Simple Microscope
Position of Objective Lens Position of Objective Lens
Position of Eyepiece Lens Position of Eyepiece Lens
Position of Viewing Screen Position of Viewing Screen
Observed Magnification Observed Magnification
d
01
d
01

d
i2
d
i2

d
i1
d
i1

d
02
d
02

Calculated Magnification Calculated Magnification
Percent Difference Percent Difference
Questions
1. For the telescope, is the image inverted or erect?


2. For the telescope, is the image real or virtual?


3. For the microscope, is the image inverted or erect?


4. For the microscope, is the image real or virtual?