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When Was the Microscope Invented? — Reading Comprehension

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This NGSS-aligned reading passage introduces students to the invention of the microscope, an essential scientific tool. Aligned to MS-LS1-1, the text explains how Zacharias Janssen likely created the first compound microscope around 1590. It also describes how Robert Hooke and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek made early discoveries using microscopes, such as cork cells and microorganisms. The passage supports science reading comprehension and builds understanding of how microscopes led to cell theory and the field of microbiology. This is an ideal resource for middle school life science and Next Generation Science Standards instruction.

CONTENT PREVIEW

"Microscope MET DP108688" by Claude Siméon Passemant / Wikimedia Commons.

The invention of the microscope changed the way humans understand the natural world. Before microscopes, people could not see the tiny structures that make up living things. Once this tool was created, scientists were able to explore the hidden world of cells, bacteria, and other microscopic life.

The first microscope was invented in the late 1500s in the Netherlands. Most historians believe that Zacharias Janssen, a Dutch eyeglass maker, created the first compound microscope around 1590. A compound microscope uses more than one lens to magnify objects, making them appear much larger than they really are.

Later, in the 1600s, scientists like Robert Hooke and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek improved the design and began making discoveries. Hooke used his microscope to examine cork and saw tiny box-like shapes, which he called “cells.” Around the same time, van Leeuwenhoek built very strong single-lens microscopes. He was the first person to see bacteria, protozoa, and other tiny organisms in water, which he called “animalcules.”

The microscope became a powerful scientific tool that helped create the field of microbiology and supported the development of cell theory. Today, microscopes are used in classrooms, hospitals, and research labs around the world. They help scientists study everything from disease-causing germs to the structure of cells and tissues.

Thanks to the invention of the microscope over 400 years ago, we now know that all living things are made of cells, and we can understand life at a much deeper level.

Fun Fact: The strongest modern microscopes can magnify objects more than 10 million times—far more powerful than the early models!

When was the first microscope invented?

In the 1400sAround 1590In 1776In the 1900s

Who is believed to have invented the first compound microscope?

Antonie van LeeuwenhoekRobert HookeZacharias JanssenRudolf Virchow

What type of microscope uses more than one lens?

Simple microscopeMagnifying glassElectron microscopeCompound microscope

What did Robert Hooke observe with his microscope?

AnimalculesBloodCork cellsDust particles

What did Antonie van Leeuwenhoek discover using his microscope?

VirusesPlanetsAnimalculesRocks

Why was the invention of the microscope important to science?

It made plants grow fasterIt allowed scientists to see tiny organismsIt helped people hear betterIt made telescopes stronger

What is the main idea of the passage?

Microscopes can break easilyMicroscopes were invented to study starsThe invention of the microscope helped scientists see tiny life formsGlass was hard to use in the 1500s

If microscopes had never been invented, what might scientists not know?

That the Earth movesThat light reflectsThat cells make up all living thingsThat animals breathe oxygen