Joliet Junior College Colonial Morphology and Cellular Morphology Questions

Exercise 3 Questions – Simple Stain.Name ____________________
Section # _________________
Cellular observations should be made under oil immersion. Observe and describe the cellular size, shape
and arrangement of your specimen. Helpful hints: The arrangement is the one that seems most prevalent.
It is not unusual to see two or more arrangements on any given slide. On oil immersion a single unit of
your ocular micrometer is equal to 1 um.
Diagram a representative arrangement of the cells from the colony you selected in the space provided.
Measure the diameter and/or length of the cells examined. It is helpful to measure several individual cells
and then determine an average size or a size range. Measure at least 10 cells to make these determinations.
Colony 1
Source____________________
Cell size__________________
Cell Shape ________________
Cell arrangement ______________
Colony description
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
__________________________________
Colony 1 – sketch of cells
Colony 2
Source____________________
Cell size__________________
Cell Shape ________________
Cell arrangement ______________
Colony description
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
________________________________
Colony 2 – sketch of cells
Exercise 3 Questions – Simple Stain.
Name ____________________
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Section # _________________
1. Distinguish between colonial morphology and cellular morphology.
Do you expect that different organisms will vary in these characteristics?
How can observations about these morphologies facilitate identification of a specific
organism?
2. Heat fixing the smear before staining has three functions. Name all of them.
3. Describe the properties of the stain and the bacterial cell which cause the stain to
adhere to the cells.
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