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The invention of the microscope greatly affected scientist’ understanding of living things by making it possible for people to discover and learn about cells, which are microscopic and cannot be seen by the naked eye.

The three main ideas of the cell theory are:

-  “All living things are composed of cells.”

-  “Cells are the basic unit structure and function in living things.”

-  “All cells are produced from other cells.”

A compound microscope uses more than one lens and can magnify and object even more than a “normal” microscope.  Light passes through a specimen and then through two lenses.  The first lens near the specimen magnifies the object, and then the second lens near the eye further magnifies the enlarged image.

Magnification and resolution are extremely important when viewing a small object with a microscope because without it, you cannot view the unique parts and detail of the specimen. 

Scientists learn more about cells each time the microscope is improved because the better the quality of the microscope, the easier it is to examine the specimen for growth, reproduction, and other functions that living things perform.