Final answer:
Mounting is done to prepare and stabilize a specimen on a slide for microscope examination, preserving cell structures and potentially using stains to enhance contrast.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mounting is a crucial step in microscope experiments that involves preparing the specimen to be viewed under a microscope. This process includes fixation, where the sample is attached to the slide, often by heating or chemical treatment. Fixation stabilizes the specimen, halting cellular movement and metabolism while preserving the structure of the cells for observation. The reason for mounting, particularly using a wet mount, is to examine the sample in a more natural state, which is particularly beneficial for observing living organisms or cells in a liquid medium.
Staining can be a part of the mounting procedure if enhanced contrast is needed to view the specimen more effectively. In cases where specifics structures within the cells need to be differentiated, various stains and techniques are applied during the mounting process. The choice of stain depends on the type of cell and the cellular components that need to be examined.
To understand the orientation of the image under a microscope, it's important to recognize that a microscope's optics, using two sets of lenses, invert the image; thus a specimen that appears right-side up and facing right on the slide will look upside-down and facing left when viewed through the microscope. This inversion is typical of how light travels through the microscope lenses.