MURDER!!!!

Murder

By: Sylvie Holding, Emma Mellon, Jordan Kania

Welcome back readers! Our second experiment of the class was to solve a murder. We were asked to identify an unknown substance found on the dead body. I know what you’re probably thinking, how can inexperienced investigators solve a crime? However, we looked at the scenario, shown under, and we took careful steps, listed in the procedure, to eventually solve this complex task.

Who did it?

A forensics lab

Yesterday at 3 AM, at Mike's Awesome Bakery in Francestown, NH the baker arrived to find his assistant baker dead: lying in a pool of blood.  The victim's body was covered in a white powder.  

In an attempt to find the source of the white powder, investigators collect multiple samples from the bakery (baking soda, flour, baking powder, powdered milk, cornstarch).

Investigators are in the process of interviewing employees of the bakery to narrow their field of suspects.  They are also gathering clothing samples from employees to find a match for the white powder.

Materials

-baking soda

-baking powder

-flour

-cornstarch

-vinegar

-iodine solution

-universal indicator

-water

- one sheet to put all powders and liquids onto

-lab materials (beakers, stirrers, pipettes, ect.)

Procedure

- Get all listed materials

- Put one powder on the sheet in its designated spot (ex. the baking soda goes in the baking soda spot)

- Drop 4 drops of water on each powder in the first column

- Repeat step 3 substituting each liquid listen

- Record what happens to each powder as the liquid is added

- Match the unknown substance to one of the known substances listed

Conclusion

The substance that needs to be identified is baking powder. This can be determined because the baking powder and the unknown substance had the same reaction to all the liquids.