Ferns under the microscope

In this activity, students see how increasing the power of magnification leads to much greater detail. They view the reproductive structures of ferns, moving from the naked eye to light microscopes to electron microscopes.

By the end of this activity, students should be able to:

• use a light microscope to view fern reproductive structures

• identify some of the fern reproductive structures (sori, sporangia, indusium, spores)

• discuss the differing amounts of detail they are able to see with the naked eye and with increased powers of magnification.

Download the Word file for:

• introduction/background notes

• what you need

• what to do

• image cards

• student handout.