Activity 1.1.

5: Time of Death Experimental Design- Student Response Sheet

1. Identify the Problem or Question

Problem Statement: What is anna’s body’s cooling rate in different situations of hot, warm,
and cold?

2. Predict a solution to the problem or an answer to the question.

Hypothesis: I believe the body will change fairly slowly due to the body being fresh.

The independent variable is: The temperature of the water.

The dependent variable is: The cooling rate of Anna.

Control is:

Evidence Record - Data Table 1

Assigned Actual Maximum Minimum Temperature
Temperatur Temperat Temperat Temperat Change
e: ure of ure of ure of (˚C):
Water “Body” “Body”
Bath (˚C): (˚C):
(˚C):
73.91 50.95 22.96
50 50.4

Class Results: Data Table 2

Temp: Group Group Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group Group

1 Temp 2 Temp Temp Temp Temp 6 Temp 7 Temp
Change Chang Change Change Change Chang Change
(45 ˚C:: e (Room (Room (Room e (0˚C):
(45 ˚C): temperature temperature temperature (0˚C):
) ) )

21.9 22.96 49 48.87 65.2 40 None

© 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Principles of Biomedical Science Activity 1.1.5 Time of Death Experimental Design – Page 1
 Cooling Rates:Data Table 3

Hot (45 ˚C): Room Temperature Cold (0˚C):

Coolng Rate (˚C/min) 1.12 4.89 5.26

The Glaister Equation is used to determine time of death. Use the equation below to determine
Anna’s time of death.  The medical examiner measured Anna’s rectal temperature to be 92.4˚F at
11:00am. 

98.4    - Rectal Temperature of Body when found 

__________________________________________ =  approximate hours since death
Body cools at 1.5 degrees/hour

Show your work here:

98.4 - 50 = 48.4/1.5

Approximate Time of Anna’s death: Because the EMT found Anna’s body at 9:56 AM, and we
know that Anna’s been dead for 32 hours, we can conclude that Anna died at approximately
2:56 AM.

© 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Principles of Biomedical Science Activity 1.1.5 Time of Death Experimental Design – Page 2
 Vocabulary Word Definition 

Lividity  The fourth stage of death, causes blue/purple

coloration on the lower or dependent of the body
post-mortem

Rigor Mortis The stiffening of the joints and muscles of a body hours
after death.

Algor Mortis The reduction in the reduction in body temperature and

accompanying loss of skin elasticity that occur after
death. Body temperature and accompanying loss of
skin elasticity that occur after death.

Ambient Temperature  Ambient temperature is the air temperature of an

environment or object.

Independent Variable A variable (often denoted by x ) whose variation does not

depend on that of another.

Dependent Variable A variable (often denoted by y ) whose value depends on that of

another.

Control Group The control group is defined as the group in an experiment

or study that does not receive treatment by the
researchers and is then used as a benchmark to
measure how the other tested subjects do.

Conclusion Questions:

1. Summary. Below, write a four-sentence summary on Anna’s time of death. Describe how this
time relates to her death; does it narrow down the suspects’ list? Do you believe another
suspect could be involved? Do any of your theories change? 

She has been dead for many hours, this makes it seem to me like she died so isolated, that it
may be a suicide, or overdose.

© 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Principles of Biomedical Science Activity 1.1.5 Time of Death Experimental Design – Page 3
The Glaister Equation Word Problems- for each question, explain your answer with a 2-3
sentence explanation. 

2. How would a hot summer day, around 100 degrees fahrenheit, affect the cooling of a
deceased body, if the body was left outside?

The cooling of a deceased body would most likely be reversed. It would heat up and throw off
any dating of when the person actually died.

3. Research the rate of cooling would be affected had the person just consumed recreational
drugs, such as cocaine or methamphetamine, before death.

Drugs such as cocaine and meth may change body temperatures, thin blood capillaries, and
overall change the rate of cooling. There is also the fact that the body may heat up to try to release
the threat, throwing off measurements again.

4. Say a body was dumped into a partially frozen body of water. How would this affect the rate of
cooling? 

The body would be frigid, completely and utterly frozen and the temperature would be
impossible to calculate. Since there is blood in the body, it would freeze- crack and the body itself
would puff up as it becomes bloated.

5. List 2 ways (that have not already been mentioned above) someone may decelerate/slow
down the rate of cooling of a deceased body. 

© 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Principles of Biomedical Science Activity 1.1.5 Time of Death Experimental Design – Page 4
 One way is to cool the body with cool liquid, maybe something as extreme as liquid nitrogen.

Another way is to cover the body in an ice bath.

6. List 2 ways (that have not already been mentioned above) someone may accelerate/speed up
the rate of cooling of a deceased body.

Someone may do this by pouring warm/hot liquid on a body and slowly boil a human body.

Another way is maybe dissolving tissue with acid, which would react violently and heat up the
body to cause combustion within the cells.

© 2013 Project Lead The Way, Inc.

Principles of Biomedical Science Activity 1.1.5 Time of Death Experimental Design – Page 5