Fiber Lab

http://s369.photobucket.com/albums/oo138/alzaka789/?action=view¤t=Movie59-1.flv

Guiding Questions:

Can you use fiber evidence to identify its source?

Yes, if you can identify what the fiber is. After you know that you can compare it to other fibers that possible suspects may have had on them when they committed the crime and that information can lead to catching the person who committed the crime. In our particular crime the information led us to the murderer easily because there was only one person who had a red polyester sweater.

How might this lab be helpful in preparing you for the mission?

Because if we find victims or we need to figure out how someone or something was killed, identifying any fibers on them would be immensely helpful. It could make or break the investigation. It helps narrow down suspects.

Postlab Questions:

1. Are there any noticeable differences between natural fibers (wool, cotton, silk) or man made fibers (polyester, rayon, nylon, acrylic, spandex)?

The natural fibers smelled worse than the manmade ones. Also, the natural fibers burned slower than the manmade ones once they were in the flame. The fibers were different after they were removed from the flame. The manmade ones turned more squishy and more remained of them, as opposed to the natural ones where there was little left after they were burned.

2. Microscope-which fiber is the most like the unknown fiber from the victim? What evidence do you have?

We thought that the polyester was most like the unknown fiber. They looked very similar if not identical on all three functions of the microscope (low, medium, and high). The individual fibers were similar as well as the way they were made up and shaped.

3. Burn-which fiber is the most like the unknown fiber from the victim? What evidence do you have?

Polyester and the unknown fibers burned extremely similarly as well. They both got little black burnt ball-shaped things on the edge of the fibers. They both smelled the same and had the same after-effects.

4. Which suspect do you believe committed the crime?

Casey because he owned polyester and he wore it every day.

Trajectory Lab

*See Jessica's post for our trajectory lab (we made a video together)

Below are the guiding questions:
1. How can the angle of impact of a bullet in a wall be used to determine other critical information about the scene of the crime?

It helps us to know what angle the bullet hit the object at, which helps forensic anthropologists figure out the height of the shooter as well as other important details like where they shot the bullet from.


2. How might the lab be helpful in preparing you for the mission?

Because we might come across some bullet holes on the mission and we can use what we learned in this lab to figure out the height of the shooter and where they shot the bullet from. It also helps us learn about trigonometry in case we have to do a variation of the lab involving some other type of hole.