Question

When you switch from a low power objective lens (for example, 4x) to a higher-power objective lens (for example, 10x), what happens to the working distance between the lens and the coverslip?

Answer 1

The answer to the question: When you switch from a low power objective lens to a higher power objective lens, what happens to the working distance between the lens and the coverslip, would be: The working distance diminishes.

Step-by-step explanation:

In microscopy, the power lenses are the ones that will allow you to view an object being studied. How clear, and how well, you are able to identify that object, and the details in it, will depend not just on its size, but also on how well the lens (or lenses in the higher power ones) is able to capture the light coming from the power source, the obstacles that prevent light passsage and transmitting and magnifying the image. What these lenses will do is capture the light that is defracted once it hits the object and from that refraction, and the light that goes through the object itself, an image will form in higher, or lower detail. Depending on the size of the specimen, and what wants to be seen, a person will thus select a lense that is low-power, or the higher power. And what will definitely be noticed is that the working distance between the lens and coverslip on the microscope will decrease.

Answer 2

The working distance decreases

Step-by-step explanation:

"The working distance is the distance between the specimen and objective lens. The working distance decreases as you increase magnification. The high power objective lens has to be much closer to the specimen than the low-power objective lens in order to focus. Working distance is inversely proportional to magnification."

Reference: Murphy, Ellen. “What Happens When You Go From Low Power to High Power on a Microscope?” Sciencing, 2 Mar. 2019