Which type of microscope achieves the highest magnification and greatest resolution?

• A. Transmission electron microscope
• B. Compound light microscope
• C. Scanning tunneling microscope
• D. Dissecting (stereo) microscope

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the key terms: magnification refers to how much larger an image appears compared to the actual size, and resolution is the ability to distinguish two close points as separate entities.
2. Step 2: Review the capabilities of each microscope type: Compound light microscopes use visible light and lenses, typically achieving magnifications up to around 1000-2000x with limited resolution due to the wavelength of light.
3. Step 3: Consider the dissecting (stereo) microscope, which provides lower magnification and is mainly used for viewing larger, three-dimensional specimens with lower resolution.
4. Step 4: Examine the transmission electron microscope (TEM), which uses electron beams instead of light, allowing much higher magnification (up to 1,000,000x) and much greater resolution because electrons have much shorter wavelengths than visible light.
5. Step 5: Note that the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) can achieve atomic-level resolution but is not typically used for biological samples and works on different principles; thus, for biological magnification and resolution, the transmission electron microscope is the highest.