The goal of this project was to solve a murder case using scientific processes to decipher the evidence. The different tests we did included: fingerprinting, DNA fingerprinting, blood tests, ink chromatography, and pedigrees. Within this unit, we learned about each of the tests and how inheritance and blood typing works. My group consisted of Jacob Gomez and Lindsey Oppegard. Below you will find our presentation for the project explaining the results of our tests.

Pedigree

A pedigree shows the family history or ancestry of a person. We used the pedigrees of the suspects to connect them to each other and determine potential motives. We also used pedigrees to track genetic diseases that may have passed through the family and given any indicators through the evidence from the scene.

Karyotype

A karyotype shows a person's complete set of chromosomes. Any irregularities found amongst them indicate a chromosomal disorder, different depending on what is the variant. Karyotypes can be used in a crime investigation to match a suspects blood to the blood found at the scene. Our karyotype showed the victim's blood found (Carelton Comet) and Nancy's blood as well.

Ink Chromotography

Ink chromotography separates the pigments found in any given ink sample. When the solvents are placed in a solute (Isopropyl Alcohol in our case), the inks travel a distance comparable to the solute, and a formula is used to determine the different color pigments. These measures can be matched with ransom notes or threats found from the case. For us, the results showed Fred Flimmer as owning the pen used in the threat.

Fingerprinting

Every person has unique fingerprints, and so they are very useful in determining who was at the scene of the crime. In forensics, each suspect gets their fingerprint taken, and detectives see if any match with the prints found at the scene on the glasses. We used light powder to make each ridge in the print clear, which allowed us to identify the pattern as a whorl, loop, or arch type print. In this case, it was an arch, matching exactly with Nancy Normal.

Inheritance

Inheritance refers to how traits are passed from generation to generation. These traits can be anything from hair color to athleticism. Traits in any given person are determined through their dominant and recessive genes. If any dominant allele is present, it will show in the phenotype, or physical outcome on the person. If there are two recessive alleles present, the recessive trait will show. For example, if brown eyes are the dominant phenotype and blue eyes the recessive, a person with brown eyes may have the genotype BB or Bb, but a person with blue eyes may only have the genotype bb (homozygous recessive). There are also more complex stages of inheritance with codominant traits and incomplete dominance, which combine both genes received from each parent in different ways. In this project, we used inheritance in the pedigrees to determine which diseases passed from parent to child.

I enjoyed this unit of forensics the most out of all of our projects this year. I thought it was cool to practice tests done by detectives in cases and relating it to real world scenarios. It was also interesting to uncover different pieces of the puzzle and take a guess at what actually happened. My group worked well together and we were able to share the workload nicely.

One thing I succeeded at during this project was collaborating with my group and combining everyone's input into the presentation. I was able to use all the evidence we had accumulated together and arrange it into a format we could work on, by setting up the slideshow and labeling all the parts to make it more organized. Also, I did well at pushing our group to finish in the last few days, because we did end up being a little bit behind. In the end, we were all conscientious learners who set our minds on producing a cohesive project.

Something I can work on improving for the next project is taking more time on each individual component to the project and making sure I understand the reasoning behind each test. In this project, while completing the tests, I wasn't always sure what the results meant, and so I had to do some extra research at the end to be able to explain it in the presentation. Another aspect I can improve upon is being more responsible in showing up to class on time. My sister and I have a hard time getting out the door on time each day and to school before the bell. I think this is something I can put more focus on from now on.