My Science Fair Hypothesis and Method

MY HYPOTHESIS

My hypothesis is that the different fingerprint patterns (Loop, Whorl,Arch) will be inherited. I believe this to be true because the majority of physical characteristics are passed down through generations. I think that around 20 of the pairs of siblings will be a match, and around 10 of the pairs of non-related people will be a match.

PLANNING MY FAIR TEST

My Science Fair project is slightly different from the rest in the respect that instead of doing an experiment I am taking samples. This is what I plan to do. I plan to take the print of the right hand thumb from 30 pairs of young siblings between the age of 5 to 13 (preferably from Eastbourne) and 30 pairs of non-related children from the age of 5 to 13. After that I will identify the patterns from each pair and find out if they match. I will then draw my conclusions based on that information. For my project to be a fair test I need to ensure that the labeling on the prints are clear, that there are exactly the same amount of pairs in each group, and that no one’s print is repeated (e.g.. One in a sibling pair, and also in a non-related pair.) I am also going to find out which is the most common fingerprint pattern among the samples and compare that with the statistics I encountered during my researching.

MY EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

Equipment Needed

Black Ink Pad
30 squares of white paper, 5cm x 5cm
Damp cloth
Magnifying glass
Highlighters in pink and yellow
30 pairs of siblings (preferably from Eastbourne)
30 pairs of non-related children (preferably from Eastbourne)
Glue stick
30 strips of red paper, 15cm across and 7cm up
30 strips of blue paper, 15cm across and 7cm up


Method

How to take fingerprints:

Clean thumb thoroughly with damp cloth.
Press thumb firmly into the ink pad so that the surface is completely covered.
Roll thumb from left to right in the centre of the piece of paper, then press hard. Do not move the thumb.
Lift carefully off the paper.
Leave to dry.

How I will conduct my experiment:

1. Take the fingerprints (see above) of 30 pairs of siblings and 30 non-related pairs. Store and dry them carefully so they do not mix with each other.

2. Stick each pair on it’s own strip of paper- blue for siblings, red for non-related pairs, and write the names of the people underneath

3. Identify the pattern of each fingerprint and record it under the print.

4. Invent a unique ID for each pair.e.g. 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, etc.

5. Highlight the matching pairs on the sibling’s side with a yellow highlighter and, on the non-related side, with a pink one. Count up the matches.
Record the results.

6. Additionally, I will count up the numbers of the different types of patterns and find out the  most and least common. I will then compare these with the statistics from my research.



I can only do this experiment once. However, I can practice taking fingerprints as many times as needed beforehand.