Murder Mystery

In this project, we were asked to solve the mystery of who killed Carlton Comet. We were provided with a threatening note, blood samples, hair samples, and fingerprints. Using scientific observation, we analyzed and found out where all these pieces of evidence came from.

In the end, out of the many suspects, we discovered that the murder was Nancy Normal, who was distantly related to Carlton Comet. Her motives were:

• Revenge for cheating on Aunt
• Nancy loves Fred Flimmer whos mother and sister were killed by Carelton
• Love triangle between Fred’s sister and Nancy’s aunt
• Has triple X Syndrome which means she is prone to anxiety, depression, learning disabilities, and mental issues which could have driven her to do this for Fred.

Content:

Ink Chromatography: A test used to try and trace where ink has come from. You dip the note into a small amount of alcohol, then measure how high the ink travels and what pigments are in the ink. Using these measurements, you have to calculate the Rf value of each pigment. We used this to find out that the death threat was written using Nancy Normals pen.

Blood types: Blood types are defined with different letters, A, O, B, and AB. To determine where the blood found on the scene came form, we mixed a sample of blood from each of the subjects. If the sample clumped, we knew that those types were not compatible.

Fingerprinting: Fingerprints are taken at a crime scene with a powder substance and tape. You put powder over the fingerprint you have found and start brushing the excess off until you can visually see its ready. Then you get tape and put it over the fingerprint and peel it back without smudging it. You can then compare this fingerprint to the suspects to identify where it came from. The three main types of fingerprints are world, loops, and archs. Using this method, we identified the fingerprint found at the scene belonged to Nancy Normal.

Pedigrees: Pedigrees are the maps used to trace back families through the generations. Using this, you can draw connections between different people, and trace back inherited conditions. We used this in our project to see how all the suspects and the victim were related, and identify a motive.

Reflection:

During this project, I felt that I contributed a lot to the team. Whenever we faced a problem, I felt I was able to keep us moving. For example, towards the end I realized that we had a large uncomplete part in our packet. My team and I struggled to figure out how to acquire this information. After a while, I began to ask others for help. In doing so, It helped me develop character, and teamwork, and in the end we completed our packet. Another thing I felt went well for us was teamwork. Every single one of us always had something to do. I felt that no one dragged us behind, and we all helped each other when we needed it.

However, all wasn't perfect. Stem is my first period class, so there were days I would come to class half asleep. I felt during this time, I could have been more of a contributing team member. This showed me how important sleep is. Another example of a trouble our group had was doing the slides the day before presenting. This meant we had to stay awake late at night to work on them. I feel we may have lost points because we didn't split all the slides as well as we could have.

All in all, I feel this project was extremely worth while. I felt challenged, and was opened to a whole new field of work.