The electron microscope AQA A-level

Learning objectives:

• Explain how electron microscopes work
• Explain the differences between a transmission electron microscope and a scanning electron microscope
• Describe the limitations of the transmission and the scanning electron microscopes.

Includes all resources!

This lesson is the second lesson in topic 3 cell structure of unit 2 cells. The lesson begins with the students recalling and reviewing learning from the previous lesson, where they must write summarised points on cell fractionation and ultracentrifugation. The lesson continues to a discussion task, where students need to discuss difference between a light microscope and an electron microscope. This activity is to lead onto the comparison of the light microscope and the electron microscope. Two rounds of dingbats are used to introduce the two types of electron microscopes: scanning and transmission. Students are then challenged to an independent research task, where they must only identify the key points for each type of microscope. The lesson continues on to a review quiz, designed to check the understanding of the students on what they had researched. The lesson ends with a plenary of summary questions from the AQA text book. Homework is included at the end and links to the fourth lesson in topic 3 cell structure of unit 2 cells.