Evidence
This is our Murder Mystery Project. Our task was to read a crime report and solve the crime using the evidence we were given and analyze the evidence using forensic science. Some of this evidence includes a crime report, family histories made into pedigrees, fingerprints for dusting, karyotypes, blood type testing, pens for ink chromatography, and DNA fingerprinting. Our findings and analysis are compiled in the slideshow presentation above.
Content
Key Terms:
Forensic Science- The application of the scientific method to aid in a criminal investigation
DNA Fingerprinting- The analysis of DNA samples in order to identify an individual
Ink Chromatography- The process of separating contents of ink to show differences
Karyotypes- The number and appearance of all 23 chromosomes in a cell
Pedigree- A table showing family ancestry
Chromosomal Disorder- A disease caused by faulty, extra, or not enough chromosomes
DNA Structure- the double helix pattern and 4 base pair nucleotides the makes up DNA
DNA Replication- The process of replicating new, semi-conserved, DNA
DNA Mutations- DNA that gets damaged, causing new and sometimes dangerous traits
Allele- A set of DNA that codes for a specific trait, passed down from parents
Dominant Trait- A trait that will always be expressed if the allele is present
Recessive Trait- A trait that will only be expressed if two of the alleles are present
Co-Dominant Trait- When no trait is dominant over the other, resulting in both traits being expressed
Incomplete Dominance- When one trait is not fully dominant over the other, resulting in a mixture of the traits being expressed
Forensic Science- The application of the scientific method to aid in a criminal investigation
DNA Fingerprinting- The analysis of DNA samples in order to identify an individual
Ink Chromatography- The process of separating contents of ink to show differences
Karyotypes- The number and appearance of all 23 chromosomes in a cell
Pedigree- A table showing family ancestry
Chromosomal Disorder- A disease caused by faulty, extra, or not enough chromosomes
DNA Structure- the double helix pattern and 4 base pair nucleotides the makes up DNA
DNA Replication- The process of replicating new, semi-conserved, DNA
DNA Mutations- DNA that gets damaged, causing new and sometimes dangerous traits
Allele- A set of DNA that codes for a specific trait, passed down from parents
Dominant Trait- A trait that will always be expressed if the allele is present
Recessive Trait- A trait that will only be expressed if two of the alleles are present
Co-Dominant Trait- When no trait is dominant over the other, resulting in both traits being expressed
Incomplete Dominance- When one trait is not fully dominant over the other, resulting in a mixture of the traits being expressed
The most important part after gathering evidence, is analyzing it. Most of the terms above helped us do this. DNA Fingerprinting allowed us to analyze the suspects' DNA and compare them to the DNA found at the crime scene, helping us narrow down our suspects. Ink Chromatography allowed us to analyze who wrote the note, while helping us figure out how to convict our killer. Karyotypes helped us see if any of the suspects had some sort of chromosomal disorder, which can help us figure out if any of the suspects could've killed due to complications with their disorder. Finally, a pedigree helped us map out the family history of all of the suspects to see if anyone had any history with each other, which helped us find a motive for our killer. All of this helped us figure out who our killer was.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this project was pretty fun and unique. It was great working with many different tools and process to help find our killer. This project also helped us discover how we can apply science in the real world and how we could use it in the future. This project also came with a few high points. One thing we did pretty well was organization. Staying neat and organized helps us to work efficiently and know where all information is, which we did well. If we can remember to stay organized, then work will be done easier and more efficient. Another thing we did well was our analysis of evidence. Analysis is crucial because it helps us piece everything together to come to a conclusion. If we continue to analyze our data and evidence well, then our presentation and work will look and be much better. Even though we had our highs, we definitely had our lows. One thing we need to work on is work distribution. Most of the work was weighted heavily on a single group member, which isn't fair and is detrimental to the quality of the work. If work can be distributed more evenly, things would go much more smoothly and the quality of work would be higher. Another thing that we need to work on is our final presentation. None of our group members were fully prepared for our presentation and it was tough presenting in front of judges. The presentation is crucial because all of the evidence and analysis must be explained, and if it is not explained well, then our work was for nothing. If we can prepare better and make more time to prepare for our presentation, our work will be worth something and show that we worked hard.