Group No.

____ Date:
Group Members: Score:_____

Activity 1
Crime Lab: The Mystery of the Switched CD

Introduction:
You are about to solve the mystery of a switched compact disc,(CD) containing
information covered by biotechnologies. The CD was switched as it was being transported from
a biotech research laboratory in the Visayas to its headquarters in Manila. Security protocol
dictated that the information in the CD not be sent over the internet.
The information was a breakthrough design for a bioengineered microchip implant with
text messaging capabilities, allowing humans to send text messages without the use of cellular
phones or personal computers. The microchip processes brain signals into alphanumeric
signals or text format that can be transmitted through brain waves. The recipients either
receive text messages in their cellphones or the chip implant converts alphanumeric signals
back to brain signals. The breakthrough could bring down the cellphone industry, and all
biotech companies were after the design. A resident scientist tipped a syndicate that promised
to give a huge amount of money in exchange for the CD. Headquarters was surprised to
discover that the CD did not contain the bioengineering blueprints. The scientists at the
biotech laboratory were investigated and fingerprints taken from the CD were analyzed at the
crime laboratory.
The process of analyzing fingerprints is called dactylography. Sharpen your skills, put
into action traits of scientist, and help the crime investigators identify the erring CD switcher
by analyzing patterns in the fingerprints collected. Who do you think switched the CD?

Objectives:
- Determine the identity of the mystery person by analyzing fingerprints
- Exhibit the skills of using scientific method and scientific attitudes
Procedure:
1. Get your group to work discreetly without the other groups knowing what you are doing
or discussing. Select three members of your group to provide samples of their thumb
mark. Assign who will be suspects A, B, and C. they will serve as the suspects in the
mystery case.
2. Note that there is a box marked Evidence and six boxes marked Suspects (A, B, C) on
your activity sheet. Do not write your group number and names of the member yet.
3. Have each volunteer press his or her right thumb on the stamp pad and affix their right
thumbprint onto the corresponding Suspect box in the activity sheet of the group. Make
sure each volunteer writes a fictitious name (code name) to identify their thumbmark.
4. Agree on who among the three volunteers will be the culprit. Secretly, without the other
groups seeing, have the culprit impress his or her thumbmark on the box marked
Evidence on the activity sheet of the group.
5. Exchange your data sheet with another group. Make sure each member of your group
has a marked activity sheet to work with. Write your name and group number on the
sheet that you received.
6. Analyze the thumb marks of the suspects and compare with the evidence.
7. Based on your observations, who was the CD switcher? Write the name on the space
provided in the activity sheet.
8. Check with the person who gave you the worksheet and ask if your analysis was
correct.
Data and Results:

Evidence

Suspect A Suspect B Suspect C

Name: _____________ Name: _____________ Name: _____________

Suspect D Suspect E Suspect E

Name: ______________ Name: _____________ Name: ______________

List down fingerprint characteristics that are common to both the evidence and the possible suspect.

Conclusion:
Based on the pieces of evidence presented, I conclude that the culprit is ____________.

Post- laboratory Questions:

1. Was your analysis correct? Why or why not?

2. What difficulties did you encounter in deciding who the culprit is?