Magnification Formula

Magnification Formulavideo

Magnification Formula

Calculating magnification and specimen size using millimetres as units

• Magnification is calculated using the following equation:

Magnification = Image size ÷ Actual size

• A better way to remember the equation is using an equation triangle:

Magnification equation

• Rearranging the equation to find things other than the magnification becomes easy when you remember the triangle - whatever you are trying to find, place your finger over it and whatever is left is what you do, so:

  • Magnification = image size / actual size

  • Actual size = image size / magnification

  • Image size = magnification x actual size

Remember magnification does not have any units and is just written as ‘x 10’ or ‘x 5000’