Murder Mystery
With Zoe Null, Addison Deal, and Robert Orta
Evidence
Our goal was to design a presentation (above) showing who the murderer of fictional character Carelton Comet was. First, we conducted several experiments involving things such as DNA fingerprinting, blood types, karyotypes, pedigrees, and ink chromatography. All of the separate experiments helped us find who the killer was. We discovered that the killers were Fred Flimmer and Nancy Normal. Finally, we made and presented the presentation.
Content
Reflection
One thing I did well in this project was that I showed good attitude. For example, I tried to maintain a positive attitude about this project even though it kind of dragged on for a while. Another thing I think I did well in this project was that I showed good work ethic. For example, I worked on the presentation when other people in my group didn't want to do anything. One thing I think I could improve on was that I could have shown better cooperation. For example, our group didn't really work together well. We usually only had two people working at any given time. Another thing I could improve on was that I could have shown more leadership. For example, I didn't really delegate tasks in this project, which is apparently something you need to do to show good leadership.
Our goal was to design a presentation (above) showing who the murderer of fictional character Carelton Comet was. First, we conducted several experiments involving things such as DNA fingerprinting, blood types, karyotypes, pedigrees, and ink chromatography. All of the separate experiments helped us find who the killer was. We discovered that the killers were Fred Flimmer and Nancy Normal. Finally, we made and presented the presentation.
Content
- Pedigrees are diagrams that show the recorded ancestry, especially upper-class ancestry, of a person or family; shows diseases and how they were passed down. We used this to trace the family histories of the suspects, showing the diseases that each person had. Nancy Normal had Huntington's Disease.
- Karyotypes are diagrams that show the number and visual appearance of the chromosomes in the cell nuclei of an organism or species. We used this to figure out which chromosomal disorders each person had and the two crime scenes. Nancy Normal had Triple X Syndrome, which matched the chromosomal disorder at one of the crime scenes.
- Genetic diseases are genetic problems caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome, especially conditions that are present from birth. We used this because Marfan's Syndrome and Huntington's Disease were passed down throughout the families of the suspects, and Nancy Normal had Huntington's Disease.
- Gene mutations are mutations in genetics. They involve the changing of the structure of a gene, resulting in a variant form that may be transmitted to subsequent generations, caused by the alteration of single base units in DNA, or the deletion, insertion, or rearrangement of larger sections of genes or chromosomes. We used all of the mutations because they were important to learn about for the identification of the adscititious suspects to see which one murdered Nancy Normal. There are many types of gene mutations including:
- Insertions which are mutations in which extra base pairs are inserted into a new place in the DNA.
- Deletions which are mutations in which a section of DNA is lost, or deleted.
- Substitutions which are mutations that exchange one base for another.
- Frameshift mutations which include insertions and deletions. Since protein-coding DNA is divided into codons three bases long, insertions and deletions can alter a gene so that its message is no longer correctly parsed.
- Point mutations which include substitutions. They only change a small part of a gene.
- Chromatography is the separation of a mixture by passing it in solution or suspension or as a vapor (as in gas chromatography) through a medium in which the components move at different rates. We used it because it was involved in one of the experiments we did to find out who the murderer was.
- Punnett Squares are square diagrams that are used to predict an outcome of a particular cross or breeding experiment. There are different types of Punnett Squares. Monohybrid crosses are 2x2 grids while dihybrid crosses are 4x4 grids. We didn't really use them in the main project; however, we did use them in the Design-O-Saur sub-project to find out what traits the dinosaur offspring had.
Reflection
One thing I did well in this project was that I showed good attitude. For example, I tried to maintain a positive attitude about this project even though it kind of dragged on for a while. Another thing I think I did well in this project was that I showed good work ethic. For example, I worked on the presentation when other people in my group didn't want to do anything. One thing I think I could improve on was that I could have shown better cooperation. For example, our group didn't really work together well. We usually only had two people working at any given time. Another thing I could improve on was that I could have shown more leadership. For example, I didn't really delegate tasks in this project, which is apparently something you need to do to show good leadership.