Labs

Footprint Lab    

     This lab involved the siting of a footprint and what the procedure would be when at a crime scene. To start the lab off students from the prior class collected dirt in bins to simulate a sectioned part of the crime scene where the print was found. Prior to creating our prints our groups were required to record some of the conditions, as shown in the picture to the right. A footprint could give a forensic scientist a good amount of information depending on how well the impression is. At times even the brand name and shoe size may be seen! The pattern left by the sole can also determine the type of shoe the attacker was wearing. As for my print I happened to be wearing dress shoes so the heel had a slight incline compared to the rest of the shoe. Since this was a simulated test the only direction the print had to face was north. My group was able to successfully record and produce a print that was seen clearly in order to analyze the impression. By completing this lab I was able to a feel on how forensic scientist examine and record footprints that occur at a crime scene.

Witness Lab

     For this lab each person in my group had to cut out one picture that was similar in size, skin tone and had similar facial expressions as the whole table. Once all of the faces were cut out, the next step was to cut out the individual's hair, forehead, eyes, nose, mouth and ears. One group member had to construct a face using the variety of facial parts for another, and were given 10 seconds to memorize the face before the face was scrambled. After this step they had to pick out the parts and reconstruct the face to the best of their abilities.

     The purpose for this lab was to test to see if we were adequate witnesses. The three of us were able to successfully reconstruct the faces without any errors. Confirming that our group should do relatively well in identifying a suspect.

Lipstick Lab

     For this lab I was required to identify the properties of my lip. In order to do this I had to apply lipstick and kiss the a blank notecard to leave my lip print. By leaving my print I was able to observe the characteristics of my lip as well as my fellow classmates. A few examples of the characteristics that I saw in the classroom was chapped lips, the differences in gap between upper and lower lip and the general shape of the lip. After that test we were required to do the same procedure again and try to identify someone's  lip based on the prior lab. My group was overall successful in matching the lip prints because each lip had a distinct characteristic that stood out from the others.

Create A Profile
Given 5 clues that involved a review of my newly obtained knowledge on forensics: fingerprints, hair/ fiber evidence and lipstick my group and I were required to identify the individual who might have committed the murder.

Clue 1: A set of 4 prints, thumb is missing. Through careful observations my group and I determined that the fingerprints were produced from the right hand. Once identified these four prints included 2 whorls and 2 tented arches. 





Clue 2: Being a hair/ fiber sample the evidence had to be observed underneath a microscope to distinguish that this sample was in fact a hair sample that was most likely color treated.





 Clue 3: A torn up note was also found and after assembling the pieces the note read, "You will never find her!"







Clue 4: Following the same steps for Clue 2 this sample was identified as African American hair.






Clue 5: This piece of evidence could either be a blood stain or a lipstick smudge. Further investigation would be required to determine the mark.







Drug Lab

     Through the use of 3 simulated drugs: "cocaine", "LSD" and "methamphetamine", also known as "meth" my group and I were required to use each drug reagent in order to see if each sample would test positive for any of drug reagents. We were unable to test substances for meth because its reagent wasn't available at the time. Before I was able to start testing the substances I had to put a small amount of the substance into a beaker and shake. This step allowed myself and other classmates to have more drug to work with. After placing a couple of drops on the clear test plates we added each of the reagents to the drops and took its pH to determine if the substances were cocaine or LSD. By completing this lab I was able to get the feel on how forensic scientists are able to determine if an unknown substance is a drug.

Poison Lab

     Prior to starting this lab we were asked to think of possible poisons. But first it helps to know the definition of a poison: a substance that, when introduced into or absorbed by a living organism, causes death or injury. Here are a few that myself and group members came up with: Pesticide, bug bites, antifreeze, and lead. A poison can also be a material that an individual is allergic to for instance, sugar for diabetics, and milk for individuals who are Lactose Intolerant. Symptoms of poison can be enlarged pupils, bleeding out of the eyes, nose, mouth and ears, nausea and a difference in skin tone.
     For this activity we were to test to see if the any of the six given substances were poisonous. For aspirin, iodine, sugar, cyanide,  a household cleaning product and metal poison, each substance had their own indicators located nearby. By completing this lab I realized that poison can play a major role in revealing criminals because there was probably a reason on my a criminal might have used the poison for an individual case. For example, maybe the killer knew that the victim was diabetic so he/ she overdosed the individual as their means of murder. This could now limit forensic scientists to look for individuals who were close to the victim and knew that he/she was diabetic.