Microscopes used for educational purposes vary from simple to compound ones, phase contrast to differential contrast, fluorescence to confocal microscopes, and bright field to dark field scopes. Most students dealing with the subject of life sciences use the student bright field compound microscope as it is commonly found in classrooms.

A student bright field compound microscope is much easier to use if we speak of practicality. It is very simple to set up as well as exceptionally simple to use. In addition,very little preparation is required to view any subjects. It uses natural light for the object to be seen. Being called compound, it utilizes its own light source to be able to reflect light to the subject. This innovation is a breakthrough since not much of an amount of light is needed to work with it. The process starts as the light goes through their specimen by means of various lenses and then passes into the user’s eyes allowing a better view.

In general, this type of microscope is utilized to teach the students on the use of microscope. Students learn how to identify the organisms being studied by looking at the complicated cellular components and to make an estimate of the number of specimens found in a certain sample.

Some components of a student bright field compound microscope include the base, objective lens, ocular lens, the microscope arm, body tube, condenser lens, microscope stage, and adjustment knobs.

•    Base is the one that gives support to its whole body. This component has a light source attached to it that reflects the quantity of light to the subject. The base contains simple circuits and a necessary plug which is attached to a particular source of power to turn it on.

•    In the rotating part, a system of objective lens can be found. These lenses enable the student to adjust the magnification either in the lower or higher level. Commonly, bright field compound microscopes have four lenses of this type. One objective lens is able to magnify the subject four times (4x). This is used when the student wants to set up the view field. Another lens can magnify the subject ten times (10x), which is useful when selecting a particular part of the subject. Another one can magnify the subject to a greater level to further enhance the desired proportion. The last level of magnification produces the highest while utilizing an oil to get the best view of the specimen.

•    Because it is compound, a set of ocular lenses are used for a greater magnification exceeding what the objective lens can do. These are the lenses which are located closest to the human eye when the student observes the subject.

•    Another important component is the microscope arm. This holds the objective lens connecting to the base. Some student bright field compound microscopes have adjustable reflecting mirror. This mirror provides a broader range for the light to give reflection.

•    When light is being sent from the subject to the ocular lenses, the body tube is responsible for this function.

•    The condenser lens is the component that allows the light to pass originating from source to the subject. Light is being focused to the subject through the aperture or opening located in the stage. Subsequently passing through the subject, the condenser light is presented to the student’s eye with a perceptible field, which is very much superior compared to the part being illuminated.  It can also be integrated with a colored glass to maximize the contrast in the subject.

•    For the slide to be mounted, a microscope stage is used. It also allows the slide to be revolved in various directions. It consists of the slide clips, which hold the slide in its proper place to keep it from being displaced or slipping off the stage.

•    Students use the adjustment knobs to define a specific focus on the subject. One type of this knob is the coarse adjustment knob. It serves to move the stage going up and down depending on the student’s required distance. This will enable gaining more focus on the subject itself. Another knob is called the fine adjustment knob. This allows smaller adjustments of the microscope stage when the student wants to focus on just a part of the subject.

Although a conventional student bright field compound microscope sounds extremely easy to use, it also has its limitations. It only enables low magnification in terms of contrast when observing biological models. Thus, one will require a more sophisticated microscope to determine finer elements. However, this fact does not hinder it from being considered as a good tool for fundamental studies.