Lesson 4.1.1.5

4.1.1.5 Microscopy Quiz: AQA Biology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.1.1.5, Microscopy: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA GCSE Biology (8461), Unit 1: Cell biology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Compared to light microscopes, electron microscopes have much higher magnification and what else?

    • Focal length
    • Field of view
    • Resolving power
    • Light intensity

  2. What type of microscope is needed to study sub-cellular structures in the finest detail?

    • Dissecting microscope
    • Light microscope
    • Simple microscope
    • Electron microscope

  3. Electron microscopy has enabled biologists to see and understand more of which structures?

    • Whole tissues
    • Macroscopic structures
    • Organ systems
    • Sub-cellular structures

  4. What is the correct calculation to find magnification?

    • Real size ÷ image size
    • Image size ÷ real size
    • Real size + image size
    • Image size × real size

  5. A cell appears 50 mm wide in an image at ×500 magnification. What is its real size?

    • 100 µm
    • 10 µm
    • 50000 µm
    • 1000 µm

  6. An image of a cell is 20 mm across at ×400 magnification. What is its real size?

    • 50 µm
    • 500 µm
    • 5 µm
    • 8000 µm

  7. A real object is 5 µm across and magnification is ×200. What is the image size?

    • 25 µm
    • 205 µm
    • 1 mm
    • 0.04 mm

  8. A bacterium measures 2 µm and its image is 4 mm across. What is the magnification?

    • ×200
    • ×2000
    • ×8
    • ×20000

  9. Express a magnification of 2000 in standard form.

    • 2 × 10^2
    • 2 × 10^3
    • 20 × 10^2
    • 2 × 10^-3

  10. Which unit is most suitable for measuring a sub-cellular structure seen under an electron microscope?

    • Kilometres
    • Nanometres
    • Centimetres
    • Metres

  11. Which property of a microscope determines its ability to distinguish between two close points?

    • Lens diameter
    • Light wavelength
    • Magnification power
    • Resolving power

  12. Which instrument developed over time to allow higher resolution study of sub-cellular structures?

    • Light microscope
    • Electron microscope
    • Hand lens
    • Stethoscope

  13. Which type of image is produced directly by an electron microscope?

    • Coloured image
    • Monochrome image
    • Fluorescent image
    • 3D hologram

  14. An image is 60 mm wide and the magnification is ×1500. What is the real size?

    • 4 µm
    • 40 µm
    • 400 µm
    • 90 µm

  15. A 15 µm cell is viewed at ×750 magnification. What is the image size in millimetres?

    • 1125 mm
    • 11.25 mm
    • 112.5 mm
    • 0.02 mm

  16. A cell is drawn 8 cm wide at ×4000 magnification. What is its real size?

    • 200 µm
    • 20 µm
    • 0.2 µm
    • 2 µm

  17. A 3 µm object is viewed at ×300 magnification. What is the image size?

    • 0.9 mm
    • 90 mm
    • 0.09 mm
    • 9 mm

  18. An electron microscope has a magnification of 100,000. A 2 nm membrane is shown. What is its image size?

    • 20 mm
    • 0.02 mm
    • 0.2 mm
    • 2 mm

  19. What term describes the ability of a microscope to distinguish two separate points?

    • Magnification
    • Calibration
    • Focus
    • Resolution

  20. An increase in a microscope's resolving power allows scientists to see greater what?

    • Light intensity
    • Detail
    • Specimen colour
    • Specimen area

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