Discovery Express
  • Welcome!
  • Blog
  • Ask Dr. E!
  • Check out our store!
  • 9 Apples Math Game
  • Your questions answered!
  • Events and Announcements
  • About/Contact

Catching a Criminal: Fingerprinting / Intro to DNA

7/17/2016

0 Comments

 
Author: Maddie Van Beek

Fingerprints
Take a close look at your fingertips.  All those swirly marks in your skin are your fingerprints, and yours are incredibly unique. Did you know that just like snowflakes, no two fingerprints are alike? 

Fingerprints are just one tool used in a field called forensic science. Forensic science is the science of gathering information about past events, and using that information in a court of law. When investigators are trying to determine who committed a crime, they use forensic science! Crime scene investigators often use fingerprints to help catch the criminal. 

Play the Whodunit game to learn more about fingerprint types and solve a crime scene! ​
Play Whodunnit?!
Now that you’ve played the Whodunit game, you should know that there are THREE types of fingerprints: Loop, Arch, and Whorl. ​
Picture
Image 1: Arch
Picture
Image 2: Loop
Picture
Image 3: Whorl
Take your own fingerprints! 

What kind of fingerprint do you have? 

YOU WILL NEED:

Paper

Pen

Ink pad

YOU WILL DO:

1. Draw 10 boxes on a white piece of paper.

2. Label each box for each finger (Left Pinky, Left Ring, Left Middle, etc.)

3. Press your right thumb on an open ink pad. Make sure you start with your thumb tilted to the left and then roll to the right so that the whole pad of your thumb is covered in ink.

4. Press your right thumb on the box labeled “Right Thumb” and roll your finger just like you did to apply the ink. 

5. Repeat this for each finger on your right hand, and then your left hand. 

6. Analyze your prints! Are you Loop, Arch, or Whorl? 

Fingerprints are just one way that our bodies are uniquely different from one another! ​
Introduction to DNA/Traits
Genes are the individual components that make up our DNA. Genes are like ingredients in your DNA recipe. The combination of our parents’ genes determine what kinds of physical traits we acquire. You get half of your genes from your mom and half of your genes from your dad. If you look to the image on the right, you see that parents' genes can combine to produce a number of outcomes. Each child may end up with different traits, depending on how the genes combine. That's why sibling might not always have the same color eyes, hair, etc. 
Picture
Image 4: Gene
Picture
Image 5: Snowflake
Think of yourself as a snowflake; Your DNA is unique and different from anyone else's DNA! 
DNA is the unique code that formulates our traits. It’s like a set of blueprints, a recipe, or a set of instructions for our body.
Picture
Image 6: Blueprint
DNA resides in the nucleus of a cell. Remember, cells make up EVERY LIVING THING, including EVERYTHING in your body! The nucleus of the cell is like the hub of the city--it’s the brain that tells the rest of the cell what to do. In the image below, the purple ball is the nucleus. 
Picture
Image 7: Eukaryotic Cell
What exactly IS DNA, anyway? DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid, and is made of phosphate, deoxyribose (sugar), and nitrogen bases. There are four different bases: Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine. The sequence of these bases creates genes. When these bases are repeated in different orders, they create differences in genes, which then influence our traits. On the left, you can see how the bases connect to create the DNA's structure. On the right, you can see what a section of DNA looks like; this structure is called a double helix. 
Picture
Image 8: DNA Structure
Picture
Image 9: Double helix
Traits are hereditary characteristics. For example, your hair color is just one characteristic that is coded in your DNA. Other examples would be eye color or height.

Species have relatively similar genes, but genes come in different forms, called alleles. 
Alleles determine what variety of a certain trait we have. For example, all dogs have tails, but kind of tail will they have? All cats have fur, but how long is their fur? 

Today, you are going to see how different alleles affect the physical traits of a dog. In the following, you will select one of four different alleles for each of the nine genes of your dog. In this simulation, the combination of the nine genes builds a single DNA strand for your dog. 

Draw a dog based on its DNA!


YOU WILL NEED:

Pink, Yellow, Orange, and Green sticky notes or colored strips of paper.

Markers/crayons/colored pencils. 

Tape (if you didn’t use sticky notes)

YOU WILL DO:

1. Throw all the colored papers in a bowl or bag that you can’t see through.

2. The colored papers represent traits. As you draw traits out of the jar, you are building your dog’s DNA!

3. Draw a paper out of the bowl/bag. What color is it? Refer to the key for the body of your dog. If you drew a pink paper, your dog body will be medium-sized, short, and stocky. 

4. Draw a paper out of the bowl/bag. What color is it? Refer to the key for the ears of your dog. If you drew a yellow paper, your dog ears will be large and floppy. Stick this piece of paper on the bottom of your first piece. If you used paper instead of sticky notes, use tape to connect them. By the end, you will have a chain of genes that made up your dog.

5. Continue on for each part of your dog’s body.

6. Draw your dog!
Picture
Image 10: Boxer
DNA Project Key

Body: 


Pink = Medium, short and stocky

Yellow = Tall and lean

Orange = Tall and muscular

Green = Small and thin


Ears:

Pink = Pointed

Yellow = Large and floppy

Orange = Medium square

Green = Medium and floppy

Nose: 

Pink = Pink/Red

Yellow = Black

Orange = Brown

Green = Spotted

Snout:

Pink = Long and thin

Yellow = Short and smushed

Orange = Droopy jowls

Green = Medium and square

Eyes:

Pink = Blue

Yellow = Brown

Orange = Grey

Green = Green

Coat Color:

Pink = Brown

Yellow = Black

Orange = Spotted

Green = White

Fur: 

Pink = Short and Curly

Yellow = Short and course

Orange = Long and shaggy

Green = Long and curly 

Tail: 

Pink = Long and lean

Yellow = Short and stubby

Orange = Medium

Green = Curly 

Legs:

Pink = Short and stubby

Yellow = Long and lean

Orange = Medium

Green = Muscular

References:
​
  • http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/inheritance/activities/pdfs/A%20Recipe%20for%20Traits_Public.pdf
  • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dillinger/sfeature/sf_whodunit.html
  • http://www.slideshare.net/MrsTabor/dna-for-7th-grade
  • http://www.chem4kids.com/files/bio_dna.html
  • http://tfscientist.hubpages.com/hub/explaining-dna-to-a-six-year-old


Image Credits:

Image 1: Fingerprint arch. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 7/17/2016. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Fingerprint_Arch.jpg Image was created by the United States Department of Commerce and is in the Public Domain. 

Image 2: Fingerprint loop. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 7/17/2016. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Fingerprint_Loop.jpg Image was created by the United States Department of Commerce and is in the Public Domain. 

Image 3: Fingerprint whorl. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 7/17/2016. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Fingerprint_Whorl.jpg Image was created by the United States Department of Commerce and is in the Public Domain. 

Image 4: Shaffee, 2015. Autosomal recessive - mini. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 7/17/2016. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Autosomal_recessive_-_mini.svg/800px-Autosomal_recessive_-_mini.svg.png File used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Image 5: Lynch, 2011. Snow flakes. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 7/17/2016. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Snow_Flakes.jpg/800px-Snow_Flakes.jpg File used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Image 6: 1936. Joy Oil gas station blueprints. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 7/17/2016.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Joy_Oil_gas_station_blueprints.jpg/1024px-Joy_Oil_gas_station_blueprints.jpg File is in the Public Domain. 

Image 7: Zaldua, Equisoain, Zabalza, Gonzalez & Marzo, 2016. Cell animal. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 7/17/2016. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Cell_animal.jpg File used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Image 8: Madprime, 2016. DNA chemical structure. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 7/17/2016. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/DNA_chemical_structure.svg/800px-DNA_chemical_structure.svg.png File used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Image 9: Zephyris, 2009. DNA orbit animated static thumb. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 7/17/2016. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/DNA_orbit_animated_static_thumb.png  File used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Image 10: Skovgaard, 2007. Boxer puppy fawn portrai. Uploaded from Wikimedia Commons on 7/17/2016. 
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Boxer_puppy_fawn_portrai.jpg/1024px-Boxer_puppy_fawn_portrai.jpg File used in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. 
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Follow us on Pinterest!
    Picture
    Check out our new game for math education, grades 1-7!

    Archives

    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

      Tell us what interests you most, and we'll send you a free PDF of a lesson in that subject!

    Submit

    Categories

    All
    Age 10 12
    Age 12 14
    Age 14 16
    Age 16+
    Age 8 10
    Anatomy/Physiology
    Biology
    Chemistry
    Engineering
    Food Science
    Geology/Earth Science
    Health Science
    Math
    Microbiology
    Physics
    Plant Science
    Psychology
    Weather Science

Proudly powered by Weebly