Procedure

How we prepared the sample for the SEM

• We put the carbon tape on the stub 
• We divided the carbon tape into three sections to receive the three different types of pollen
• We took the dried Hemerocallis, Zantedeschia aethiopica, and Lilium asiatica samples that Ms. Lindahl already had and used individual paintbrushes to put the three pollen samples on their sections of the carbon tape.
• We blew the sample with compressed air to blow off any loose pollen grains and to push the pollen grains further onto the carbon tape.

(photo credit to Sophie, model is Liam the Great)

• The software that we used for taking 35x photographs was LeicaEZ4 HD. We put the different samples on petri dishes and then looked at them on the screen of the computer. 
• Then we focused the image, found the pollen in the sample, and zoomed in to 35x. We refocused on the pollen, and took photos of the sample. 
• Then we repeated with another lily sample.

• The software that we used for taking SEM photographs was FEI Phenom Pro. 
• When we took the pictures on the SEM, we were looking for the 3 samples of daylily, asian lily and calla lily pollen to take more in depth look at whether or not our hypothesis is correct. 
• We photographed the pollen at different magnifications to look at the size, shape, and texture of the pollen grains to compare and contrast them to one another.