Even with an ordinary microscope, you must look closely to see bacteria. Using a magnification of 100 times, one finds that bacteria are barely visible as tiny rods or dots one cannot make out anything of their structure, Using special stains, one can see thar some bacteria have attached to them wavy-looking'haars" called flagella. others have only one flagclluns. The fiagella rotato, pushing the bacteria though the water. Many bacteria lack flagella and cannot move about by their own power while others can glide along over surfaces by some little understood mechanism.