How to calculate total magnification of a microscope

Here are the steps, you can follow to calculate total magnification of a microscope. To calculate the magnification you need information about the magnification of the objective lens and the eyepiece.

How to calculate magnification of a compound microscope

• First of all, you need to Look for the magnification marked on the objective lenses (e.g., 4x, 10x, 40x).
• Now check the eyepiece for its magnification. It’s commonly 10x, but it can vary in some cases.

• Multiply the magnification of the objective lens by the magnification of the eyepiece.
  [ \text{Total Magnification} = \text{Magnification of Objective Lens} \times \text{Magnification of Eyepiece} ]
• If you don’t have information about the eyepiece magnification, assume it’s 1x (no additional magnification), and your total magnification will be equal to the magnification of the objective lens.

How to calculate magnification of a stereo microscope (Dissecting Microscopes)

Stereo microscopes have two eyepieces and do not use objective lenses with high magnification. The total magnification is calculated differently:

• Check one of the eyepieces for its magnification.

1. Stereo microscope Magnification formula

• The total magnification is twice the magnification of one eyepiece because you are looking through both eyepieces simultaneously.
  [ \text{Total Magnification} = 2 \times \text{Magnification of One Eyepiece} ]