CSI SALT LAKE

Amber Alert!!! A 5-year-old girl has been kidnapped from her bed during the night. The police’s only clue is a ransom note left on her bed side table. It is your job to find out which pen wrote the note so the police can test it for fingerprints.

Collect Materials!

YOU WILL NEED…

• 1 Coffee Filter• All of the suspected pens with labels• A cup of water• Scissors• The evidence slip

The Evidence:

First: Cut the Coffee Filter into little slips.

Next: Draw a line from each of the pens on the filter slipsAndLabel

3rd: Dip the slip into your water until it is just below the penmark.

Pull it out and hold it up until the mark starts to separate.

Pause! Write in your Science Journal!

Why do you think the marker separates on the coffee filter?

Place slips on a piece of paper to dry.

Study Evidence

Now compare it to the tests…

Evidence

Evidence

Evidence

Evidence

If necessary, take a closer look!

Pause! Think and Write: Which pen do you think it is?

Do you need to run more tests? How would you run them to get better results?

How would you have done the experiment differently?

Which one was it? Rather than tell you, I want

you to completely draw your own conclusions.

Why? Because as a CSI investigator, you need to make your best guess and stand by it.

Good Work Investigator!