Introduction
For this project we were playing the role of forensic scientists, we were given a case and evidence and the task to find out who did it and present our evidence to a jury. Our group of, Diego Gutierrez, Max Leonard, Zach(Chris) Griggy, and I had to use Fingerprints, Pedigrees, Karyotyping, Blood types, and Ink Chromatography, to determine who committed the murder. We used this information to build a case to present to a fake jury to obtain a fake warrant of arrest for a fake murderer.
Concepts
Allele- Sequences that code for a gene
Gene- A unit of DNA on a chromosome that is responsible for traits and is passed down from parent to offspring. Phenotype- The physical expression or characteristics of a Genotype. Genotype- A set of genes in our DNA that are responsible for a trait. Heterozygous- A trait made up of two different alleles. Homozygous- A trait made up of two similar alleles Dominant- An allele that when present in a genootype, masks the recessive allele and is the only allele expressed in the phenotype. Recessive- An allele that can be masked by a dominant gene in a genotype and only is expressed in a phenotype when both alleles are recessive. Co-Dominant- A heterozygous gene where both alleles are expressed. Incomplete Dominant- A heterozygous gene where neither allele is dominant over each other. Fingerprinting- Fingerprinting is the act of identifying and recording fingerprints to compare. Every single fingerprint is unique so it is very useful for identifying people. There are three possible fingerprint patters a person can have on one of their fingers, Arch, Loop, and Whorl, these are explained below. It was used by us to determine who held the knife during this murder. Arch- An arch fingerprint is a result of homozygous dominance. Looks like an arch. Loop- A loop fingerprint is the result of incomplete dominance. Looks like a loop. Whorl- A whorl fingerprint is the result of homozygous recessive. Looks like a whirl. Pedigree- The record of ancestry for a person or family. Males are shown in Squares, females in circles, deceased are crossed out and traits and/or diseases are marked by distinct symbols that are defined by a key. We used this to determine the motive for the killing. Karyotype- The number and appearance of chromosomes in an organic lifeform. We used this to determine what chromosomal disorders the suspects had. Ink Chromatography- A process if analyzing mixtures by separating the different parts via a solvent. We used this to determine who wrote the threatening note. DNA Fingerprinting- A laboratory technique used to compare DNA of suspects. We used this to determine whose blood was found on the scene. Blood Types- The different groups all human blood cells fall into. Either A B AB or O, they can also be positive or negative. A and B are Dominant Alleles, AB is Co-Dominant, and O is recessive. We also used this to identify blood on the scene. Warrant- A document issued by a legal or government official authorizing the police or some other body to make an arrest, search premises, or carry out some other action relating to the administration of justice. The goal of our project was to use our evidence to obtain an arrest warrant. |
Example of dominance in flower colors.
Fingerprint types.
Pedigree Example
Karyotype Example
Ink Chromatography Example
DNA Fingerprinting Example
Chart Explaining Blood Types
|
Project
Conclusion
This project went fine, nothing special. One thing I think we as a group did well was work together, we all managed to collaborate well and understand each other, this was one of the few projects I have worked on where we all are on the same page. Another thing I think our group did fantastically was identifying and understanding each others problems and working to fix them, one example of this was when we noticed one of our group members was unable to work due to the high level of noise and extreme chaos of the classroom our group decided to work in a separate, quiet, and far-away room.
One thing that our group did not do well was staying on task all the time, this wasn't a very big problem though because it was only during the beginning of working on the project. Another thing we could have improved on was our double checking of our work, after presenting this project I was informed by some fellow classmates that some things I said during the presentation were incorrect, some of these were due to different interpretations of the case by the different groups but some were simply errors, in the future I will work to make sure all the work on my presentations is correct. All-in-all this project went well, nothing spectacular.
One thing that our group did not do well was staying on task all the time, this wasn't a very big problem though because it was only during the beginning of working on the project. Another thing we could have improved on was our double checking of our work, after presenting this project I was informed by some fellow classmates that some things I said during the presentation were incorrect, some of these were due to different interpretations of the case by the different groups but some were simply errors, in the future I will work to make sure all the work on my presentations is correct. All-in-all this project went well, nothing spectacular.