Description of Project
The crime scene project was completed over a 3 week time period where we used a series of Stem and science experiments to acquire evidence to gain information and a motive on why the murder occurred. We looked into the family tree and DNA samples along with blood found at the crime scene to discover the truth behind this case. My group and I used a series of scientific techniques that can be seen below to acquire this evidence. Each lab had its own meaning and helped for a claim to who committed the murder.
Below you can see my group's finished slideshow presentation that contains all of our work from this project along with key concepts learned during the project and the summary of how the project went and what we could learn from it. This project required us to be similar to real detectives and look hard for all clues and uncover a motive of why a murder was committed. This was a interesting and fun project that required lots of thinking, strategizing, and effort.
Below you can see my group's finished slideshow presentation that contains all of our work from this project along with key concepts learned during the project and the summary of how the project went and what we could learn from it. This project required us to be similar to real detectives and look hard for all clues and uncover a motive of why a murder was committed. This was a interesting and fun project that required lots of thinking, strategizing, and effort.
Content
Below is a list of all the key terms discovered and researched about in the duration of this project. These science concepts helped my group and I find the murderer and the motive behind the killing.
Heterozygous: The two alleles of a specific gene are different. This may or may not effect the expressed trait. We used this to help understand genotype.
Homzygous: The two alleles of a specific gene are the same. This guarantees the specific allele that is doubled will be expressed. We used this to help understand genotype.
Genotype: The actual genes and their form. We did not use this concept in the project.
Phenotype: The physical result of a specific gene. We applied this to genes to understand the effects of genes.
Genetic disease: A mutation in the genetic code that has effects that are passed down to offspring. Genetic disease was used to track bloodlines and descendancy.
Dominant: A trait that only requires one allele, not both, to be expressed. We used this concept to gain additional understanding of the relation between phenotype and genotype.
Recessive: A trait that requires both alleles to be its kind to be expressed. We used this concept to gain additional understanding of the relation between phenotype and genotype.
Co-dominant: When both traits of a heterozygous allele pair are expressed. We used this concept to further understand the relation between genotype and phenotype.
Allele: One form part of a gene may take, potentially changing the physical form. We used alleles to portray potential outcomes for genetic combination.
Ink chromatography: A technique used to divide the chemicals out of ink on paper. We used this to find which pen was used to write a note threatening Carlton Comet (either Sam or Nancy).
Pedigree: A record of ancestry of a specific person. Specific traits can be noted on the pedigree to track the progress of traits and genetic disease. We constructed a pedigree for all of the suspects.
Karyotype: The physical appearance and amount of chromosomes one has. This was used in a DNA fingerprinting process to identify Nancy Normal as being nearby Carlton Comet at the time of the murder.
Heterozygous: The two alleles of a specific gene are different. This may or may not effect the expressed trait. We used this to help understand genotype.
Homzygous: The two alleles of a specific gene are the same. This guarantees the specific allele that is doubled will be expressed. We used this to help understand genotype.
Genotype: The actual genes and their form. We did not use this concept in the project.
Phenotype: The physical result of a specific gene. We applied this to genes to understand the effects of genes.
Genetic disease: A mutation in the genetic code that has effects that are passed down to offspring. Genetic disease was used to track bloodlines and descendancy.
Dominant: A trait that only requires one allele, not both, to be expressed. We used this concept to gain additional understanding of the relation between phenotype and genotype.
Recessive: A trait that requires both alleles to be its kind to be expressed. We used this concept to gain additional understanding of the relation between phenotype and genotype.
Co-dominant: When both traits of a heterozygous allele pair are expressed. We used this concept to further understand the relation between genotype and phenotype.
Allele: One form part of a gene may take, potentially changing the physical form. We used alleles to portray potential outcomes for genetic combination.
Ink chromatography: A technique used to divide the chemicals out of ink on paper. We used this to find which pen was used to write a note threatening Carlton Comet (either Sam or Nancy).
Pedigree: A record of ancestry of a specific person. Specific traits can be noted on the pedigree to track the progress of traits and genetic disease. We constructed a pedigree for all of the suspects.
Karyotype: The physical appearance and amount of chromosomes one has. This was used in a DNA fingerprinting process to identify Nancy Normal as being nearby Carlton Comet at the time of the murder.
Reflection
In this project there were many positives and negatives that can be learned from and improved upon in the future. One positive was the way our labs were conducted. My group and I were very precise and had few errors which led to a more accurate conclusion to the crime scene. Another positive was the communication within the group. My group and I had a series of ways we could connect with each other in or outside of school which made working on the project much easier. These positives should stay consistent for success during future projects.
There were also negatives that we can learn from in this project. One of them was time management. I often found myself along with my group mates off task which slowed our speed of progress on this project allowing less time for edits. Another negative was the incomplete facts report we got from the family tree to develop our motive for the killer. This hindered our ability to easily find the motive but instead challenged us to use our labs to connect the missing pieces and infer while finding the motive. These negatives will be improved upon for future success in STEM group work.
There were also negatives that we can learn from in this project. One of them was time management. I often found myself along with my group mates off task which slowed our speed of progress on this project allowing less time for edits. Another negative was the incomplete facts report we got from the family tree to develop our motive for the killer. This hindered our ability to easily find the motive but instead challenged us to use our labs to connect the missing pieces and infer while finding the motive. These negatives will be improved upon for future success in STEM group work.