The text on this page pertains to the 25 slide High School slide set available from GreatScopes.com. Click for information. This guide was written by Bridget Ardoin, author of the homeschool manual What?? Me Teach High School Biology? 1) Loose Connective Tissue a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 40x objective. b) Where in our bodies do we find loose connective tissue? (Around the heart, lungs, under skin and over muscles) c) Do you see the dark purple lines? That is the elastic fiber of the tissue. The thicker, light pink lines are the fibers made of collagen. The light purple oval shapes with a darker purple center 'dot' (the nucleus) are the connective tissue cells. d) Label the drawing: elastic fiber, collagen fiber, connective tissue cell and nucleus.
2) Spinal cord a) Focus using the 4x objective. Do you notice how the spinal cord has two different colors? Why? b) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 40x objective. Try to include both colors. Both colors are differing types of nerve cells. The whiter colored cells are called 'white matter' and the brownish colored cells are called the 'gray matter'. c) Can you see any whole nerve cells in the gray matter? (You may need to move the slide around to see any.) The nucleus of a nerve cell is always in the larger part of the nerve cell, near the dendrites (called the cell body). The axon of the nerve cell goes away from the part with the nucleus. These whole nerve cells are called association nerve cells. These help in the carrying of the nerve impulse in a reflex arc. d) Do you see any nerve cells that have only the cell body, yet its axon goes into the white matter? (You may need to move the slide around to see any) These are the motor neurons e) This part is harder to see: do you see any axons going through the white matter with its motor end plates ending in the gray matter? (You may need to move the slide around to see any) These are the sensory neurons. f) Do you see any nerve cells at all in the white matter? (You should not! All you should see are the nuclei.) Why not? The nerve cells are running perpendicular to the slide; they are taking nerve impulses to and from the brain. g) Label the drawing: gray matter, white matter, association neuron, motor neuron, sensory neuron (if you can)
3) Motor Nerve Ending a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 10x objective objective. Try to get the whole cluster of nerve ending in view. b) Do you notice the end part of the nerve branches out into many branches resembling a tree? Do you notice the tips of the branches? Each branch has an oval-shaped tip on the end. Do you notice how it seems attached to the muscle cells? This tip is called the motor end plate. This is where the nerve impulse 'shocks' the muscle into contracting. c) Do you notice how the one nerve cell's axon has more than one 'tree' branching off of it? God has designed our nerves to be efficient: one nerve affects many muscles. d) Look carefully along the axon and see if you can see any of the Schwann cells (these cells surround the axon, act like insulation causing the nerve impulse to be preserved), otherwise called myelin sheaths. You may or may not be able to see these cells for some parts of the axon may be too darkly stained. e) Label the drawing: axon, motor end plate, muscle tissue, and Schwann cell, if possible (or myelin sheath)
4) Stomach from Mammal a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 10x objective objective. b) Do you notice how the sample has curves and folds? The stomach lining is said to be 'folded' and is covered with epithelial cells. Try to focus as high an objective as possible on the outer cells of a fold (the light pink cells that look like hot dogs lined up side by side around the darker purple round cells). You may also notice that they have a lighter pink, clear covering or coating on them. What do you think this coating is? It is the mucous covering to protect the cells from the stomach acid. c) The darker pink cells inside the fold and at the bottom (under the epithelial cells and the round purple cells) are the smooth muscle cells. These cells are what contract, crushing the food, causing it to mix with the acids. d) Label the drawing: epithelial cells, mucous lining, smooth muscle cells
5) Kidney a) Look at the sample using the 4x objective. Do you notice two different colors? Put the pointer on the darker, outer edge and switch to the next highest objective. Move the slide so you can see the darker pink and the lighter pink cells. Draw and color. b) Find a cluster of purplish-pink cells that look like they are gathered into a ball shape. What do you think this is? The ball shape is called the Bowman's capsule. Within it is a cluster of capillaries. This is where the blood plasma is filtered. c) Do you notice how it looks like tubes going from the darker pink section to the lighter purple section? These are the collecting tubules. They carry the filtrate to the renal pelvis. (The cavity in the center of the kidney) On either side of these tubes are capillaries reabsorbing water that was first taken out of the blood at the Bowman's capsule. By the time the filtrate has reached the renal pelvis, it has become concentrated and is now urine. d) Why do you suppose the outer part of the kidney is a darker pink than the inner part? (It has more blood capillaries) e) Label drawing: Bowman's capsule, and collecting tubule
6) Artery and Vein a) Using the 4x objective, center the artery and vein samples. Switch to the next highest objective and focus. Draw and color. b) Do you notice that one of the specimens is thicker? Why is it thicker? What type of tissue is making it thicker? Which one do you think is the artery? Which one the vein? One is thicker due to the presence of more smooth muscle tissue. Which one would need more muscle tissue? The artery needs more muscle tissue due to the increased pressure of the blood. The blood coming from the heart is coming with more force and therefore the artery needs a sturdier wall (to keep from breaking). The blood pressure in the veins is much less, so the veins do not need a thick wall. c) Do you notice there are layers in each specimen? The inner layer (that comes in contact with the blood) is called the tunica intima. The middle layer is called tunica media, and the outer layer is called the tunica externa. d) Label drawing: artery, vein. Also label the following in both the artery and the veini: tunica intima, tunica media, and tunica externa
7) Blood Vessel of Lung a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 10x objective objective. b) Do you notice how thin the tissue is and how much space there is in this sample? Why do you suppose the Lord made our lungs this way? The thin tissue and ample space is to have optimum surface area for the carbon dioxide and oxygen to exchange. Each of the open spaces is the alveoli. c) Label drawing: alveoli
8) Blood vessel of Kidney a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 10x objective objective. b) Recall the slide of the kidney. What was inside the Bowman's capsule? (A cluster of capillaries.) Do you notice the ball-shaped cluster of capillaries? Each one of the clusters is called a glomerulus. c) Do you notice how intricate the capillaries are around the glomerulus and then straighten as they move away? Why do they do this? Recall what is surrounding the tubules in the kidney. The Bowman's capsule does most of the filtering of the blood, and most of the essential ions are resorbed in this area. Recall that water is resorbed around the collecting tubules (the straighter area). d) Label drawing: glomerulus
9) Taste bud a) Using the 4x objective, do you notice what looks like mesas and valleys? In every place where it goes down (a 'valley') are where the groups of cells called taste buds are located. Pick a 'valley', and then carefully change to the 10x objective. Draw and color. b) Do you notice how some of the cells are grouped together in an elliptical shape? (Their cytoplasm is a little lighter and clearer than the rest, and has pink nuclei) These are the taste cells. The yellow cells (pink nuclei) that cover the surface are epithelial cells (the top layer of the tongue). The darker blue cells with pink nuclei are the basal cells. Below, the grayish cells with pink nuclei are the connective tissue. c) Label drawing: epithelial cell, taste cell, basal cell)
10) Mouth Smear a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 40x objective. b) Notice the shape of the epithelial cells of the mouth. (They are square shaped, building-block type.) c) Label drawing: nucleus, cell membrane, epithelial cell
11) Human Sperm smear a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 40x objective. b) Do you notice what looks like a 'head' and a 'tail'? The head is what contains the chromosomes, 1/2 of what is needed for another person to 'be', and is called a gamete. What is the name of the cell division that a sperm must undergo in order to achieve the number of chromosomes it has? (Meiosis is the type of cell division.) The tail is used for locomotion. c) Label drawing: head, tail, chromosomes
12) Mitosis of Animal Cell a) Using the 4x objective, position the slide so that the pointer is on some cells that are in anaphase, metaphase, or telophase (these phases of mitosis are the easiest to see using the 4x objective). Carefully switch and focus to the 40x objective. b) Do you notice how the DNA strands are darkest at the end of prophase, anaphase, metaphase, and the beginning of telophase? When the DNA of a cell becomes all coiled up (stains very dark and is easy to see) it is called chromatin. c) Try to find a cell in each phase of mitosis, then draw and label each one. Also label chromatin and a centriole (if can see it).
13) Hydra through Testis a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 10x objective. b) Normally, a hydra cross-section, through its' stalk, would be circular. (Do you notice that the hydra is only two-cells thick?) This cross section is taken at a time when the hydra has developed testis (happens occasionally). The two 'side-pockets' that you see are the testis and contain the gametes. (Recall these are the cells that undergo meiosis and contain only one half the required number of chromosomes). The gametes are released into the water. c) Label drawing: testis, gamete, and hydra body cavity
14) Hydra through ovary a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 10x objective. b) Unlike the hydra through testis slide, the ovary is all around the hydra. The smaller, darker cells are the gametes (ova) c) Label drawing: ovum ('ovum' is one egg, 'ova' is plural), body cavity
15) Hydra with bud a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 4x objective. b) Some hydra samples will have small buds coming off the main stalk, possibly more than one; others will have an almost fully formed bud growing off of the main stalk (parent hydra). The buds become a miniature version of the parent hydra then break off. c) Label drawing: bud, parent hydra.
16) Fern Prothalium a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 4x objective. b) This prothalium (some books call it a gametophyte) grew from a fern spore. The two fan-like lobes undergo photosynthesis, nourishing itself while it waits for the eggs to mature and become fertilized. Each prothalium contain eggs and sperm, yet they mature at different times (this ensures the eggs will be fertilized by another fern prothalium). The thread-like extensions are rhizomes. (Rhizomes act like roots and absorb water for the prothalium.) c) Label drawing: rhizomes
17) Seed of Zea Mays a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 4x objective. (Zea Mays is a corn plant) b) The purple cells covering the outside of the seed is the seed coat (the pericarp). The lighter teal cells that make up most of the seed is the endosperm. The darker teal cells make up the cotyledon. The lines that look like arches are called the plumule, or epicotyl. The innermost arch of the epicotyl will become the new plant's first leaves and are called the foliage leaves. Directly opposite the epicotyl within the cotyledon, and having slightly purple cells within is called the hypocotyl. This will become the root of the new plant. c) Label drawing: pericarp, endosperm, cotyledon, epicotyl, and hypocotyl.
18) Spirogyra a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 4x objective. b) Spirogyra is an algae. Its cells are arranged end to end, forming a chain-like structure (this is called 'filamentous'). The darker green lines that you see are the defining lines between cells. Do you notice the twisting, twirling lines within the cells? This is unique to the spirogyra. These spiraling lines are chloroplasts (do you remember what a chloroplast's function is?). The darker dots within the cell are the nucleus. c) Label drawing: spirogyra cell, chloroplast, and nucleus.
19) Lung Mammal a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 4x objective. b) Do you notice how some of the dark pink circles are larger than others? These are the bronchioles, and the smallest circles being the alveoli. Do you notice how the lung tissue is only one cell thick? (Recall the slide of the blood vessel of the lung, slide #7) c) Label drawing: bronchiole, alveoli
20) Colon Mammal a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 10x objective. (Try to get all the layers in view) b) Do you notice how the colon has three main layers? The bottom is the outer layer; the middle is the smooth muscle layer, which moves the food along (called peristalsis). The upper layer has finger-like projections called villi. The cells in the villi absorb the nutrients. The nutrients then move to the darker purple cells, and are picked up by the pink cells and transferred into the blood and carried directly to the liver. c) Focus on a higher objective on the smooth muscle layer. Do you notice any tiny lines within each muscle cell? The skeletal muscle cells (also called striated muscle) have tiny lines within each cell, and are called striations (look again at slide #3, "Motor Nerve Ending", the nerve is attached to a striated muscle cell, and the striations are very clear). Smooth muscle cells have no striations, and hence the name: smooth. d) Label drawing: outer cells, smooth muscle cells, villi
21) Trachea Mammal a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 10x objective. (Try to get all the layers in view) b) On the inside of the trachea is a layer of cells that produce mucous and are ciliated (have tiny hairs sticking out). These cells are the darker pink cells (the cilia are very hard to see, but try to focus on some of these "ciliated epithelial cells" using the 40x objective). c) Do you notice the bluish cells in the middle layer? Do you see how these cells don't make a complete circle all the way around the trachea? This is the partial ring of cartilage that gives support to the trachea. d) Label drawing: cartilage, ciliated epithelial cells
22) Pancreas Mammal a) Draw and color what you see after focusing using the 10x objective. b) Move the slide around. Do you notice how there are larger circles that appear every so often? These are the ducts (vessels) that carry the pancreatic juice (digestive enzymes) to the digestive tract. The pancreas is lobular (has lobes; kind of like a bunch of grapes). Each 'grape' is called the pancreatic islet (Islet of Langerhans). Within each islet are different types of cells. The smaller, darker purple cells function as a storage cell. They store the insulin in granular form and are called beta cells. The other cells are larger and have different functions (are called alpha and delta cells, but are harder to distinguish). c) Label drawing: duct, Islet of Langerhans, beta cells
23) Uterus Mammal a) Draw and color what you see after focusing with the 10x objective. (Try to get all the layers in view) b) Notice the three layers. Focus on the inner layer and switch to the 400x (the 40x objective). This is lined with a special mucousal layer called the endometrium. This is the layer that is shed during menstruation. The middle layer is smooth muscle cells, and is called the myometrium. The outer layer is called the perimetrium. c) Label drawing: endometrium, myometrium, and perimetrium
24) Spleen Mammal a) Focus on any area at the highest objective possible. Draw and color. b) The light pink lines are the part of the spleen called the 'red pulp'. All the darker purple cells are leukocytes (white blood cells). Do you notice how many leukocytes are in the spleen? Another part of the spleen is called the white pulp, which is lymphatic tissue. The white pulp is the place where plasma cells form when bacteria (or foreign proteins) enter the bloodstream (plasma cells produce antibodies). c) Label drawing: leukocyte, red pulp.
25) Onion Root Tip a) You should do two drawings with this slide: 1: Using the 4x objective, draw and color. 2: Focus on a set of cells that are undergoing mitosis (metaphase, anaphase, or telophase) then carefully change and focus to the 40x objective. Try to find at least one cell undergoing each stage of mitosis (be sure to include prophase also), draw and color. Then label each stage of mitosis. b) Using the 4x objective you can see there are layers and sections to the root tip. At the bottom or tip of the root, the cells are clearer. This section is called the root cap. Right above the root cap, the cells are a little denser. This section is called the quiescent zone. Above this, the cells are a little denser and most are in one of the stages of active mitosis. This section is called the apical meristem. The outer layer of the root is the epidermis. These cells are clear with a dark purple nucleus. The next layer is a few cells thick, and the cytoplasm in these cells is darker. This layer is called the cortex. Right after the cortex is a layer where the cells' cytoplasm is clearer. It serves as a border between the cortex and the vascular tissue. This is actually two different layers, the endodermis, and the pericycle, but it isn't discernable. The middle layer contains the vascular tissue, the phloem and the xylem. (Also difficult to discern between the two due to this slide's view) c) Label drawing #1: epidermis, cortex, vascular tissue, root cap, quiescent zone, and apical meristem.
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