The Case
On February 8, 2018, Carleton Comet was murdered outside of San Marin High School while he was at a picnic. Our job was to use multiple methods of forensics analysis to establish the murderer and their motive.
We had some background information on the set of suspects that were present at the picnic. Combined with the forensic evidence found at the crime scene, we had all the data that we needed.
We had some background information on the set of suspects that were present at the picnic. Combined with the forensic evidence found at the crime scene, we had all the data that we needed.
Terms and Sub-terms
Hereditary
Forensic MethodsInk Chromatography: In order to find out who was the owner of the pen that was used to write the death threat, we used ink chromatography analysis. Strips of paper with samples of ink were put into alcohol, which drew out the colors that made up the ink. Then, the different pens could be compared in order to have a definitive answer.
Pedigree Chart: These charts show the pedigree, or family history of an individual or group of people. In our investigation, we used the individual stories of the suspects to patch together a network of relationships between them, and also any hereditary diseases that may have affected them. Karyotyoes: Visual representations of an organism's chromosomes, were used to provide some insight on the state of health of some of the suspects. Besides showing sex, the karyotypes were able to show if there were any chromosomal diseases that could have an impact on the mental health of the suspects. GeneticsMutation: The altering of the genomic structure. There are several types of mutations.
Point mutations change a small set of base pairs through substitution, also called misense if referring to a single base pair. Nonsense occurs when there is an early stop codon. Frameshift mutations alter DNA through an insertion or deletion of a base pair, therefore affecting all codons downstream of the mutation. |
Punnet Squares:Punnet squares are a visual representation of the possibilities of offspring during sexual reproduction. The father's alleles, at top, match with the mother's alleles randomly. This creates 4 possible matches, each with its own genotype and phenotype.
Dominance:Offspring produced through sexual reproduction receive two sets of alleles; one set of maternal alleles, and another set of paternal alleles. The expression of these alleles in relationship to each other represents the dominance of the alleles. There are several types of dominance. Typically, with 2 alleles, there would be one dominant allele and one recessive allele. This means that the expression of the dominant allele would completely mask the effects of the other, or recessive, allele. If a flower had a red and white allele, and red was dominant, the flower would be red. Co-dominace: Another type of hereditary dominance. Under this scenario, both alleles would be expressed in tandem. This would mean that under a white and red allele scenario, the flower could either be red with white spots or white with red spots. Incomplete Dominance: Another form of dominance in alleles. This type of dominance means that both alleles are expressed, with neither allele being dominant over the other. Using the example of red and white alleles in a flower, under incomplete dominance, the flower would be pink. |
Reflection
This project was one that our class was looking forward to for most of the year. The project was intended to be one that was mostly student analyzed, with the teacher only setting us up with the necessary knowledge. That said, not many people took this seriously. Our group did though, and because of that, we believe that it worked. However, as a group, we had our own set of strengths and weaknesses. One of the faults was that of attendance. We only had three people in our group, so it was more common to only have two people in class on any given day. This was lack of attendance to a multitude of reasons, the most common were sickness and extracurriculars. Besides that, one of our strengths was communication. We were able to communicate what was to get done each day to meet our deadlines. This was achieved not only by word of mouth but also by working on the project outside of school.