Cells in Cross Section
17
DID YOU KNOW? ?
You can tell right off the bat if a slice
is too thick by the fact that the cover
slip will not lie flat on the slide. You
can only tell by looking through the
microscope if a slice really is thin
enough.
EXPLANATION
You can see a variety of tissue types in
the slices even without using a dye.
The supportive wall tissue provides a
stable structure for leaves and stalks.
Inside the walls, there are tube-like
passageways for water and
nutrients, typically also surrounded
by supportive tissue. At the very
edge, you can easily see the outer
cuticle covering composed of lots
of small cells.
2. Set the slicing tool on its base and turn the
handle until you can no longer see the silver
blade through the oblong openings. Insert the
pine needle through one of the slicing tool
openings.
3. Now, slowly turn the handle until the pine
needle has been completely cut through.
4. Turn the blade back again and make another
slice. Repeat these steps at least ten times,
slicing off very thin slices each time (sort of
like cutting thin salami slices).
5. Carefully take the thinnest slices with the
tweezers or the dissecting needle from the
rear side of the slicing tool and place them in
the water droplet on the slide.
Ivy shoot
(cross
section)
Corn stalk
(cross
section)
