Question

A newspaper ad for a local toy store indicates that a very inexpensive microscope available for a small child is able to magnify specimens nearly as much as the much more costly microscope available in your college lab. What is the primary reason for the price difference?

A) The ad agency is misrepresenting the ability of the toy microscope to magnify.
B) The toy microscope does not have the same fine control for focus of the specimen.
C) The toy microscope magnifies a good deal, but has low resolution and therefore poor quality images.
D) The college microscope produces greater contrast in the specimens.
E) The toy microscope usually uses a different wavelength of light source.

Answer 1

The college lab microscope has superior resolving power and quality components, which leads to clearer and more detailed images compared to the toy microscope that may achieve similar magnification levels but with lower image quality.

Step-by-step explanation:

The primary reason for the price difference between a college laboratory microscope and a toy microscope advertised in a local newspaper is likely due to the difference in resolving power and the quality of the components. Although the toy microscope may magnify a good deal, it typically has low resolution resulting in poor quality images. Resolving power is crucial as it allows the microscope to distinguish two adjacent structures as separate, providing better clarity and detail to the image. Additionally, a college microscope offers fine control for focusing on the specimen, use of high-quality lenses, and when appropriate, can employ oil immersion to achieve higher magnifications up to 1,000 times.

Therefore, while the toy microscope may advertise similar magnification levels, the resultant images' detail and sharpness will not match those produced by a college lab microscope.