What is the maximum magnification of most classroom compound light microscopes?

• A. 1000x
• B. 400x
• C. 100x
• D. 10,000x

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that the maximum magnification of a compound light microscope depends on the optical limits of the lenses and the wavelength of visible light used for illumination.
2. Recall that typical classroom compound light microscopes use visible light, which limits their resolving power and thus their maximum useful magnification.
3. Recognize that beyond a certain magnification, the image becomes blurry due to the diffraction limit and lens quality, so magnifications above 1000x generally do not provide clearer images.
4. Identify that common classroom compound light microscopes usually have objective lenses up to 100x and eyepieces of 10x, resulting in a maximum magnification of 1000x (calculated as \$100 \times 10$).
5. Conclude that the maximum magnification of most classroom compound light microscopes is 1000x, as higher magnifications like 10,000x are not achievable with standard light microscopy.