• Question: how do you know thats what cells really look like even with microscopes they could be inaccurate so why do i get it wrong on my science tests because i could be right you never know because maybe i know more than you

    Asked by gracei on 11 Mar 2025.
    • Photo: Charlotte Slade

      Charlotte Slade answered on 11 Mar 2025:

      That’s an AWESOME question! 🔬 And you know what? Scientists LOVE people who ask challenging questions like this.

      Here’s the cool part: We don’t just look through one microscope. We use multiple techniques to cross-check what we’re seeing. It’s like being a detective and gathering evidence from different sources.

      For example, in surface analysis, we might use:
      • Electron microscopes
      • X-ray techniques
      • Atomic force microscopy
      • Optical microscopes
      • Chemical mapping techniques

      Each method gives us a slightly different view, and when they all show similar things, we get more confident about what we’re seeing.

      But you’re absolutely right to be skeptical! Science isn’t about being 100% certain – it’s about being the most accurate we can be with the evidence we have right now. Great scientists are always ready to change their understanding when new evidence comes along.

      Your curiosity is exactly what makes a brilliant scientist. Keep asking questions, keep challenging what people tell you, and never stop wondering “what if”!

      Who knows? Maybe YOU’LL be the scientist who discovers something we’ve all got wrong!

    • Photo: Kirsty Ross

      Kirsty Ross answered on 12 Mar 2025:

      Microscopes work by shining light either on or through the object on the slide. The light is then bent through the microscope until it reaches either your eyes or a camera. Any inaccuracy produced by a microscope is usually due to the limits of diffraction. For example, if two dots are closer together than the shortest wavelength of light in the microscope, then it will not be possible to separate them as two dots. This is why we have electron microscopes; they have a much shorter wavelength and can separate even smaller objects. If an object on the slide is particularly thick then it will be hard to see under a microscope. However, single layers of cells or thin slices of tissue are basically transparent under visible light so it is possible to see all their details above a certain size.

      Without knowing what the question was on your science test I can’t say whether you were right or not.

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