Question

Describe how you would make a microscope slide to look at an onion cell.

a) Peel a thin layer of onion skin and place it on a glass slide.
b) Add a drop of water and a coverslip to the onion skin.
c) Use a microscope to observe the cells.
d) All of the above.

Answer 1

To observe an onion cell, one must peel a thin layer of skin, place it on a slide, add a drop of water and a coverslip, and then observe it with various magnifications using a microscope.

Step-by-step explanation:

To observe an onion cell under a microscope, you would take the following steps, which encompass all the options provided:

1. Peel a thin layer of onion skin and gently place it on a clean glass slide. This layer should be thin enough to allow light to pass through, making the cells visible under a microscope.
2. Add a drop of water onto the onion skin. This helps to flatten the tissue and improves the clarity of the cell structure when viewed under the microscope.
3. Carefully place a coverslip over the onion skin. Do this at an angle to reduce the formation of air bubbles, which can obstruct the view of the cells.
4. Place the slide on the microscope stage and use the low-power objective to begin observing the onion cells. Then, switch to higher magnifications as needed to view details within the cells, such as the cell walls and nucleus.

By following these steps, you will have prepared a slide that allows you to observe the intricacies of onion cell structure, including the alignment of cells and the visibility of the nucleus, much like looking at a wall of bricks where each cell has a clearly defined edge.