Forensic Chemistry Midwest Noyce Conference April 8, 2011 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Problem Based Learning- Forensic Chemistry Midwest Noyce Conference April 8, 2011 Presented by Kylee List and Linda Monroe Warren Central High School Indianapolis, IN

Problem-Based Learning PBL • Students engage through meaningful contexts – Clarify and articulate an issue and related curricular area – Consider multiple perspectives of an issue – Reach group consensus – Develop conceptual understanding – Reflect on the process and learning

PBL Design Process Learners Context Curriculum

Learners • How they perceive the world • What topics engage their thinking • Issue connect with their feelings • Task they can accomplish alone and task they can accomplish with support

Curriculum • Consider the outcomes for the unit. • What are the conceptual, skills-based your school value highly enough to spend quality time working towards. • Maintain the curricular focus throughout the problem.

Context • Aspects of your context might intrigue your learners, at the same time provide a focus for learning essential elements of the curriculum. • Topics must hold relevance for your learners • Ideas for issues – What are some problems in your community-noise pollution, substandard housing, graffiti, erosion, trash, etc – What are local stories? – What is missing in the community?

PBL Design Process Learners Reality and Relevance Curriculum Context

PBL Event PBL Event Time Frame Meet the Problem Define the Problem Plan for & Information Gathering Information Gathering-Group Information Gathering- Individually Refine Problem Information Gathering Share Information Determine the Best-Fit Solution Prepare for Presentation Present the Solution Debrief the Problem and the Process

Assistance for Design Is the problem : Does the problem: – Ill structured • Connect to your curriculum – Messy and complex • Yield multiple solutions – Real world options – Integrative • Support open inquiry • Guide learner inquiry • Embed instruction • Embed assessments

Assistance for Design continue Does the problem support: • Leaner's operating as stakeholders • Learners actively solving problems • Learners self-directing their learning • Learners becoming self- regulatory learners • Learners achieving deeper levels of understanding • Learners construction knowledge

Beth Campbell Science Department Chairperson Warren Central High School 9500 East 16 th Street Indianapolis, IN 46229 Ms. Campbell, The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department would like to commend you and your staff on earning a reputation for excellence in chemistry education. We have determined that the Warren Central Chemistry Department is one of the top programs in Marion County. Because of this, we would like you to participate in a pilot program which will assist our crime lab in the processing of forensic evidence samples. The goal of this program will be to not only help to eliminate the abundance of samples awaiting processing by our lab, but to enrich chemistry education by exposing students to real world applications. Because these samples are potentially vital evidence in ongoing criminal investigations, the integrity of the results is of upmost importance. In order for your department to assist our crime lab, all technicians must undergo and pass the accreditation training approved by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors. As you know, your entire Chemistry Department faculty has already been accredited and will facilitate the training of your students. If you choose to participate in the pilot program, you will be processing white powder and unknown liquid samples from several ongoing criminal investigations. In a few days, you will be contacted by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors to establish your training class. Once all of your technicians have passed the training course, the evidence samples will be delivered. We truly hope that your faculty and students are willing to participate in the program. It would be an honor for us to have Warren Central involved. Sincerely, Mike Medler Crime Lab Director Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department 50 North Alabama Street Indianapolis, IN 46204

The Design Students become Certification Students Research engaged by the Process ways chemists Hook Letter identify unknown substances Students present Students gather and Sample testing for findings via compile data for “real” case files powerpoint identification of presentation unknowns

The analysis Students first are asked to research ways chemists identify unknown substances and specifically those techniques used in crime labs. After much research (and a little guidance from the teachers) the list is narrowed down to several stations : 1. Density (Liquid Sample) 2. Melting Point (Solid Sample) 3. Infra-Red Spectra (Liquid Sample) 4. Chemical Indicators (Solid Sample) 5. Solubility (Solid Sample) 6. Chromatography (Liquid Sample)

AMERICAN SOCITEY OF CRIME LAB DIRECTORS THIS CERTIFIES THAT [Name] has successfully completed the required courses for a crime lab technician approved by the ASCLD Accreditation Board, and awarded this CERTIFICATE Given this ___ day of __________, 20__ SEAL Board of Directors, Chair Instructor

FORENSIC REPORT Crime Scene Report Crime Scene: Kitchen Street Location: 8135 N Allisonville Road. Indianapolis, IN 46218 Time of Call: 1:28 p.m. Reason for Call: Potential homicide Discovery of Crime: Resident missed work unannounced two days in a row. His place of business phoned his mother who went by the house. The mother discovered the body and called 911. Description of Scene: The body was lying face down on the floor next to the sink. Next to the sink was a glass half filled with what appears to be a clear liquid. White powder appears to be spilled down the front of the cabinets near the sink and a small pile has collect on the floor. The appear to be no signs of struggle or forced entry and a note was found on the floor. Evidence Collected: 1) Latent prints from all kitchen surfaces and glass 2) white powder from cabinet facing and from pile on floor 3) various latent prints from other household surfaces and door handles 4) Clear liquid from glass 5) Ink from the note

Court Date • You will prepare a Power Point to represent your case findings • Your presentation will need to be 5 minutes in length. • Your Power Point will need to include 8 slides minimum.  Slide 1: Introduction & Purpose of the lab  Slide 2: Solubility Data – Must include how accurate your data is compared to the data packet.  Slide 4: Melting Point Data – Must include your % error compared to the data packet  Slide 5: Density Data – Must include % error compared to the data packet  Slide 6: Indicator Data – Must include how accurate your data is compared to the data packet.  Slide 7: IR slide: Must include the wavelengths of the peaks from your IR compared to the data packet.  Slide 8: Compare all of your data and confirm the identity of your case sample.

By: Mailika States Samantha Welch Sydney McCauley Emily Moleta David Jones

Purpose of Lab At the Crime of the scene Arnold Baxter, a maintenance worker , found an unknown powder at 9:41 am. He phoned the police at 9:45 am because no officers were present. The locker was cluttered with many papers, textbooks, an empty coke bottle, a red sweatshirt, a fake drivers license, and a sandwich baggy fill with white powder. Our purpose for this lab is to identify the unknown spilled from the messy locker.

GROUP 4 PACKET  A. Di Water- INSOLUBLE  The packet revealed that our unknown substance  B. Cyclohexane- SLIGHTLY was heroine. The melting SOLUBLE point was 56-60 degrees.  C. Ethanol- SOLUBLE

MY ACTUAL PERCENTAGE FOR MELTING POINT WAS 65.9 C. MY THEORETICAL POWDER NAME IS HEROINE.

D=M/V  Mass of cylinder- 50.6  Mass with cylinder and unknown substance- 59.0  Mass of unknown substance- 9.6 d= 9.6/10 d= .96

Name Our results Packet Universal Red/orange Red Methyl Blue Blue Blue BromoPhenolBlue Light Purple Purple/Blue K2Cr2O2 Yellow Yellow Phenolphthalein Clear Clear Iodine Brown/Yellow Yellow BromoCresolGreen Light Blue Blue BromothymolBlue Dark Green Gree/Yellow Methyl Red Red Red ThymoBlue Yellow Yellow/Orange BromoCresolPurple Purple Purple

Our IR Our IR shows that the liquid is acetone, from fingernail polish . When we compared the data to the packet of IR’s to ours it was exactly them same in the packet . There was a slight difference, but it was a perfect match.

Collective Data So we have found out that the mysterious liquid was acetone. Our powder was also heroine