Final answer:
A light microscope magnifies specimens using lenses to focus light, with the objective and ocular lenses creating an enlarged image. Brightfield microscopes are common, producing dark images on a bright background, with magnification commonly up to 400x or 1,000x using oil immersion lenses.
Step-by-step explanation:
A microscope that uses light to pass through one or more lenses to produce an enlarged image of a specimen is known as a light microscope. These microscopes focus light on a specimen with the help of glass or plastic lenses to magnify the specimen’s details. The specimen has to be thin or translucent so that the light can pass through it. A simple form of a light microscope involves two lenses: the objective lens and the ocular lens. The objective lens first magnifies the specimen, and then the ocular lens further magnifies this image. This creates a final magnified image that can be up to 2,000 times larger than the original specimen, with a brightfield microscope being a common type used.
Magnification and resolving power are two important parameters in microscopy, with many light microscopes in college laboratories magnifying up to approximately 400 times or up to 1,000 times when using oil immersion lenses. Brightfield microscopes are very commonly used and produce dark images on a bright background. The brightfield type can have either a monocular or binocular eyepiece setup.